Two Sides to a Face, or More
by Ferrero
Summary: With the Go club, he plays at their level. With the insei, he plays like one of them. With Touya, he plays as if they were rivals. Can he find his true hand when with every opponent he adjusts himself to suit them? AU.
1. The Tournament the Turning Point

**This is a re-write. I felt the first chapter was sloppy and totally deterring people from reading, so I re-did it. I hope it's better. There is quite some AU in the first two paragraphs because I added in an event that most definitely did not occur in the manga in. It's a bit different from the original chapter 1, but there shouldn't be enough change to redirect the whole story, yes?**

**Hmm, yeah, I just realized a mistake with my previous chapter 1. HIKARU DOESN'T HAVE A GO BOARD AT HOME, SO HOW CAN HE PLAY SAI LOADS WHEN THEY GET HOME? I can't believe my terrible memory…oh wait, I edited that in my account. Oops. I'm referring to the version on my computer.**

**Tell me it's much better. No, wait, give me your honest comment. Liars not welcomed. Oh what am I saying, so contradictory…I'm planning to revise chapters 2 and 3 too…**

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Hikaru no Go, Akira, Hikaru, etc. I'm kind of boring here…**

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Two Sides to a Face…or More

**Chapter 1: The Tournament; The Turning Point**

"I can't play you." Hikaru's heart burnt. It was heart-wrenching to learn and be aware of the fact that he was more than just simply miles away from Akira. It didn't just hurt him, it almost tore him apart. Loving Go came gradually, but being conscious of the fact that Akira was way above him hit him like a rock. It was just any other day during club activities, when Hikaru had the sudden urge to ask Sai about the game back then with the green-haired boy.

Sai was greatly reluctant to reveal the game to him, but couldn't deny Hikaru the knowledge of the game since he was pestered persistently for tens of minutes on the line. Hikaru had fallen silent as Sai replayed his second game with Akira. So uncharacteristic of Hikaru was it that Akari almost dragged him to the infirmary. It was then that Hikaru started pursuing Go seriously and not just as a club activity, he decided that Akira was his goal.

"Why? Why not?" Akira demanded. It wasn't in him to do so, but he felt the need for it; he felt that it was the closest way to reaching the boy. Shindou Hikaru was special. He knew he was special the moment they met when he didn't even know the surname of Touya but entered a Go salon, when he held the stones with such unfamiliarity but did well against mental combat. The child was special.

He was more than special, in fact, in a way Akira couldn't define. Different was simply crude and a tad bit too blunt.

"I want to work closely with the Go club. We're going to be in the next tournament. I don't have time for you. Sorry, Touya," with a sad and apologetic note hanging from his words, Hikaru tugged the curtains shut along with the windows. He couldn't face him, couldn't face the one he deceived, couldn't face the one he aspired to be like, couldn't face the one who held false hopes in him.

Hikaru pressed himself against the wall as if it would cancel out all the noise and racket Akira was making to get him to show his face. His eyes started welling up with tears and determination, forcing him to bow his head to hide it. He was ashamed of the fact that such a strong emotion could be evoked just from a conversation like that. No tough words, no philosophical meaning, just plain, denotations.

Mustering up strength enough to keep the tremble from his voice, Hikaru declared softly, his words laced with resolve, "I'll make him wait." He paused to swipe the unshed tears from his eyes. "I'll make him wait till I catch up to him."

Tsutsui and Akari only stared.

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"Ugh, Mitani, hide me."

Annoyed, the mentioned boy who recently joined the Go club under hostile conditions shoved Hikaru, "What? If you don't want people staring at you, go find a toilet cubicle."

It wouldn't have been hard to make himself scarce, but of course, his infamous bleached hair just had to get in the way. Don't get it wrong, Hikaru loved his hairstyle, he like the way it brought out his personality, but sometimes, along with the personality came terrible disaster.

"Can't, Mitani, the competition's gonna start any second…" Flinching, Hikaru skillfully dodged another sneaky glance using Mitani's lean frame, which was, of course, not such a great idea. Even with hearing as inept as Hikaru's, he could still make out the murmurings of others that included words like 'Shindou Hikaru', 'great Go', 'wonderful player', 'promising', drawing a groan from him.

Mitani snorted sarcastically, apparently pissed by the fact that Hikaru, a lesser player, got more attention than he did. "Get out of your comfort zone you great Go player, don't want your curious fans to find you missing." He grabbed Hikaru from behind him and rammed him like a rag doll onto the nearest chair, "Now sit till they call for the start of the tournament. You're annoying when you whine."

Pulling a long face but doing as he was told, Hikaru made himself as comfortable as possible with all the strange looks he was attracting from people all around the room. _Sai, I don't think I can do this._

Sai gave him a look of mock disinterest, which melted into a mentoring gaze as he started giving out advices. _Do your best then. At least have some confidence in yourself. Surely, you have improved during the time you spent at the Go club, haven't you?_

_My best…I guess that's all I can do. My skill will decide the rest, and man will it be a terrible suicide…_Hikaru dropped his head into his folded arms on the table.

_Hey, confidence, Hikaru. You need confidence._

An entirely un-deciphered and notoriously muffled sound was Hikaru's only reply, which Sai heavily suspected was a groan. Few minutes of silence passed between the pair when Hikaru peeked up from his position and muttered, "I wonder who Kaio's third captain will be. He's probably gonna be hard to beat."

_That's why I said you need confidence!_ But Sai's voice was drowned out by another, a more commanding tone that sounded suspiciously familiar. "It is me, Shindou."

Hikaru jerked stiffly. That voice…it can't be…he shouldn't be participating in amateur tournaments, the Meijin said so himself!

A tilt of a head and shift of the eyes confirmed his nervous suspicion. "Touya!"

"Kaio's third captain is me," the boy repeated, as if fearing Hikaru hadn't gotten the message.

The competitive glare sent at him broke what was left of Hikaru's confidence, if there was any to begin with.

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It was nerve-wrecking. There was Touya Akira sitting before him in all his majesty, and there was Shindou Hikaru, quivering under his intense gaze, and he didn't like it one bit. Touya's presence alone could probably send a rock hurtling toward him if he wanted, it was so…gravitating. He drew everything to him like he owned the area. He attracted glances, mutters, gossip, and (this was one which Hikaru found most interesting and unbelievable) girls.

Chatters of avid conversations regarding how smooth and silky Touya's hair was irritated Hikaru. No, it wasn't that Hikaru wanted people (girls, nonetheless) staring and pointing at him, singing strange praises that pump up his ego. He just didn't like the way Touya simply sat there acting as if nothing was going on around him, eyeing the Go board with as much interest as Hikaru did ramen, except that the look was heavy. Ramen was a casual thing, well, a necessity for Hikaru, but not something he summoned to his mind whenever he felt bored. Go, to Touya Akira, was the very reason he breathed, ate, lived, and this one game weighed heavily on his petite shoulders.

Casting a nervous glance at the green-haired boy, Hikaru shrunk from the aura he was emitting, the furious determination all compressed into that one body suddenly released. Who was he to play against this boy whose sole motivation for life was Go?

Inadequacy seeped into Hikaru's heart, and he finally decided that he would let Sai play. Sai, the drama queen, Sai, the Go obsessed freak, Sai, the ghost who overcame the test of time to play Go again, and Sai, the ultimate Go player. Sai had a passion for Go like never seen before. There wasn't a person Hikaru knew who would get depressed over being denied a game, who would shout for joy if an opportunity for even half a game was presented. Yes, Hikaru was in all ways inferior.

Another peek at the Go prodigy revealed a glare, and once more, Hikaru flinched and recoiled in his chair. How was it possible for this one boy, only twelve years of age, to be so intense and serious? How could the frame of someone who hadn't yet hit his teens withstand this extreme passion and will?

Behind Hikaru, Sai shook his head. It was useless. Hikaru wouldn't be able to play the game properly. _Hikaru, let me play. Let me play a teaching game for you. I will put your stones in dire situations and you are to save them. In the state you are in now, you are nowhere close to being able to play at your full ability._

Mental words of gratitude spilled from Hikaru when Akira suddenly let the cover of his container slip. Hikaru immediately cleared his head and offered to pick it up, to which Akira promptly refused. Once the cover was back on the table, Hikaru felt his body tense up.

"Please."

"P-please," Hikaru uttered. His fear hadn't left him, but that wasn't reason enough to run away from the game. He recalled Akira's trembling hands when he picked the cover up, and Sai immediately answered his unvoiced question. _That's the warrior's tremble. It is a physical manifestation of the eagerness to play, not fear. Hikaru, I'm starting now. The upper left sumi._

Hikaru obediently placed the stone.

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Stone by stone, the game fell into place, and Hikaru was only a spectator. He didn't like it. It was lonely, he felt excluded. While the game went on, he could feel none of the intensity, none of the heat, he just couldn't get into the game, and it was destroying him. A game with Touya that he couldn't enjoy.

_The next move's yours, Hikaru. The cluster to the right, or the one at the bottom left, it's your choice on which to save._

Jerked out from his reverie abruptly, Hikaru tried to focus on the game. It felt so distant, so cold, but he had to do what was expected of him. _15-17, right?_

Sai nodded his head enthusiastically; apparently thrilled by the fact that Hikaru had come up with an answer so quickly. He was a huge joy machine, an infectious joy machine. It only took a small thing to churn out from him so great a joy that was worth over a hundred times the input, and that great joy never ceased to spread. It brought Hikaru a sort of warmth and sense of belonging to know that even though he may not be the one who was playing the game, he could still take a small part in it, be that little fuel to Sai's joy.

Dropping a stone to 15-17, his eyes roved the board, immediately falling onto a spot where he deemed Akira's next stone would go, but what got them hooked was the intersection right next to it. There was something great about it. Something…

_Sai!_

The ghost started at the sudden exclamation. _Yes?_

_Just for a while, just for a while, Sai, let me play._

Sai's face twisted with confusion. It was great that Hikaru wanted to play, but did he have the confidence, was he brave enough to face Touya? _Why the sudden change of heart?_

Hikaru bit his bottom lip, then reluctantly disclosed, _I have a plan, Sai. I have a plan to steal this game from under Touya's nose._

It would have been amusing if anyone could have seen the way Sai's eyebrows shot up till they almost exceeded his forehead. _Really? You have a plan?_

Sensing the uncertainty in Sai's voice, Hikaru answered back hastily, _It's okay if you don't want me to do it if you think it will ruin the game, I'm okay with it!_

Sai chuckled. The boy got it all wrong. The ghost was worried about his mental state, not his abilities. Sai had full faith that he would do quite well, but it was new. Up till then, Hikaru had been extremely straight forward in his approach. _No, go ahead. It would be interesting._

_You're not joking about this, are you?_

_No, not at all._

_Thanks Sai_, Hikaru muttered mentally. Really, the boy hadn't ever had a nervous breakdown until Touya Akira came along. Well, Sai wouldn't really know much about whether Hikaru had a nervous breakdown before he met Touya or not (since he came only days before), but from what he heard, it wasn't often that Hikaru became quiet and withdrawn.

Hikaru slapped down a stone. Ah, so Touya had placed his already. Sai made to survey the sharp-eyed boy, but did a double-take at the stone Hikaru had placed. _Hikaru! What are you doing? You're going to die there!_

But Hikaru seemed totally oblivious to Sai's silent screams of horror. The ghost sunk to the floor, depression stamped all over his face. Perhaps Hikaru wasn't such a good player after all. Sai wanted to flee from the room, away from what would most definitely be Hikaru's defeat, but as a teacher and mentor, he felt the need to stay, so stay he did, although he couldn't bear to watch his student get trampled on, until Hikaru made a sudden mental call.

_Hey Sai, I did it_, Hikaru whispered in a breathy tone, well, as much as he could whisper and be out of breath at the same time while communicating mentally.

_You did what, Hikaru?_ Sai wailed and dragged his words, pulling a long face.

_Come on, Sai, don't be so evil. Don't tell me that wasn't anything great. I felt it was awesome._ As Hikaru drawled out the sentence, realization sparked within him. _You didn't even watch! How mean can you get? And you call yourself my mentor! Humph._

_Sorry, Hikaru._ Sai apologized frantically, desperate to appease his grumpy host. _Here, here, I'll go look, okay?_ Reluctantly, Sai lifted his head and took a peek at the game, fearing for what he might see, before jumping onto Hikaru and gripping his neck tightly. _No way, Hikaru, you did this?_

_What's that supposed to mean?_ Hikaru shouted. _Geez, don't tell me you thought I was that bad…_

_No…well, yes._ Sai admitted, earning him what might be fractured skull if he were tangible. _I just mean that I didn't see how you could have used the bad hand to your advantage!_

_And of course the great Sai could,_ Hikaru commented sarcastically, but was sure that his statement was entirely made of the truth.

Sai frowned. _No, I go for the more classical style so I couldn't see it. 1-14._

_1-14 what? Are you trying to find an alternative route to beat my trap?_

_No. Touya just played a hand. Reply at 1-14._ Sai sighed. Was Hikaru so prone to getting pissed before?

_Oh._ Realizing that Sai wasn't trying to oppose him, Hikaru let the issue go for a moment and returned his concentration to the board, promptly snapping a black stone down at 1-14.

Suddenly Hikaru had a thought. _Hey, Sai, don't make Touya lose._

Sai pulled a face. _But Hikaru, you should win! That plan turned the tides around. It would be strange if you lost!_

_But Sai, did you see how devastated he was when he lost to you the last time? I don't want that to happen again!_

_1-8. But why? Every Go player has to go through his fair share of losses!_ Sai protested immediately. Losses are what people learn from the most. Wins just get into their heads. People can turn corrupt if they simply lose sight of everything except victory and power, and Sai didn't want a repeat of what happened a thousand years ago when he was still a living, breathing human being.

Hikaru's eyes darted about nervously while he placed a stone. _Touya's just…different, I guess. He can take a loss. I just want to give him the, uh, satisfaction. He's been chasing you for so long._

_All the more for me to play and win. He'd be so disappointed when he finds out how much his rival's abilities had dropped,_ Sai stood firm and pointed out sensibly. His will was unshakable.

_Oh come on, I'll take you to that Go game Tsutsui-san was talking about, is that fine with you?_

Okay, maybe his will wasn't that unshakable after all. _Jeez, Hikaru. I tell, you, sometimes I get the feeling you're secretly compiling a file of my weaknesses. Fine._

Hikaru sent a reassuring gaze that read 'No, I am not going to plan your demise' and returned to the game. _Hey, Sai, 3-10, yes?_

_Yes!_ Sai was glad to know that Hikaru had regained his calm and was starting to relax. Hikaru had a great mind, but that great mind was also very easily shaken off course. It would take a hefty amount of confidence to get that back into place.

The rest of the game was a jumbled blur before Hikaru's glazed eyes. It wasn't so much that the game was boring. It was far from that. The trap that Hikaru had set up just moments ago was what drained the energy out of him. It had taken great effort to even catch a glimpse of the tail of the trap, and theorizing where Akira would go next was an even greater challenge. Hikaru simply couldn't summon up the strength to watch the game and analyze it after he had played out the lure.

_Hikaru, the game's over. We lost by one and a half moku with komi. Are you happy now?_ Sai nudged Hikaru's side, pouting. After all, it wasn't every day that someone got to play Touya Akira, and yet he had to stoop as low as to force a loss. It was extremely humiliating, even for Sai (who had absolutely no sense of embarrassment when it came to losing).

Hikaru gave a small yet apologetic smile. _Thanks Sai. Sorry for making you conform to my wishes._

Feigning satisfaction, Sai shook his head. _It's okay, Hikaru. It was still fun playing Touya like this._ It wouldn't do good for him to cause Hikaru to feel indebted to him. The boy tended to overreact to anything that had to do with Akira.

Sighing with content, Hikaru nodded in confirmation. He was simply glad that he didn't have to be a witness to another of Akira's rare overwhelming defeat. The mere sight of someone losing at his hands, even if it was by Sai through him, could send him into fits of depression, of how he wasn't sensitive enough to sense how bad they would have felt chewing the bitter pill of defeat.

Even if it were Akira who rarely showed any emotion, Hikaru still wanted to be sure, he had to be sure. He didn't want to step on what looked secure but gave way under him.

Peeking shyly, Hikaru noticed that Akira was completely absorbed by the board, staring to fiercely Hikaru could have sworn he was glaring. Was Touya not satisfied with the win?

"Is something wrong?" Hikaru asked carefully, making sure to be wary of whether or not he was not treading on water.

Akira jerked at Hikaru's voice that came seemingly out of nowhere and without any indication. His eyes flickered to the half-blond for a moment then returned to the board, trying to shield himself from those anxious green eyes. It was making uncomfortable that someone was actually worried for him when he won. He could understand if he lost, but winning? No one ever let their eyes linger on him long enough to read his expressions when he won; they usually kept their eyes downcast while separating the stones in order to leave sooner to run away from their loss. This boy had a strange way to react to such situations, especially for someone as inexperienced as him. Akira wasn't sure how to reply.

"No—nothing," Akira blurted out as politely as possible, attempting to hide the fact that he was lying. Of course there was something wrong! If Shindou had that skill he had displayed a year back, he should have won without breaking a sweat!

The look on Hikaru's face told Akira he knew he was lying. "Liar," the boy said bluntly, "There has to be something on your mind." He looked most doubtful.

"I, well, yes," Akira admitted reluctantly. "Your game…well, it wasn't as well played as it was the last time we met."

To his surprise, the boy just laughed a little too taciturnly for his personality instead of whacking him on the head, but he seemed to be laughing more out of the need to relax than a reaction to something humourous. "I knew it," Hikaru voiced between quick breaths, finally managing to sober up a little after catching Akira's un-amused face. "Well, it was under different circumstances," he leaked out kindly, taking to twirling a strand of that mass of golden hair around his finger.

Akira raised an eyebrow. "Under what circumstances do you think you have to be in to play fantastic Go like the one you played before?" he questioned, poking lightly. He never liked it when people forcefully shoved their demanding questions at him, and he doubted anyone else would like it either. It made him wonder why people never bothered treating others the way they wanted to be treated if he was able to do so.

Akira watched as the boy in front of him squirmed uncomfortably. "I don't know. Do you think you could pull it out of me?" Hikaru retorted, finally deeming one of the millions of replies that ran through his head satisfactory.

"Maybe," Akira shrugged, hesitating for a moment before asking, "Would you like to come over the salon we first played at? I'm almost always there." Akira didn't know why he was even suggesting the proposal. He was practically begging to get himself kicked around the board like a ball.

Hikaru's eyes widened a fraction of a centimeter. "Are you inviting me for real?"

"Um, yes."

"Oh, but maybe not now. Somewhere in the future, I guess. Give me a year or two. I still have a way to go to reach your standard, enough for you to consider me as a worthy opponent, that is."

"You're worthy as you are now," Akira replied almost immediately. "That trap just now proved it, even though your endgame skills have, well, rapidly declined." Akira couldn't find a better way to put it. He seldom interacted with people, and if he did, he only talked to ones that were able to accept criticisms without punching the daylights of the one who offered it.

"Really?" Hikaru perked up. "Was the trap that good?"

Akira blinked. Yes, the trap was absolutely amazing. Didn't he know that? "Yes, it was great. You really showed your ability to read ahead there. Before you laid the trap's foundation, you were playing with a really classical style so I got thrown off by the strange hand there. It looked like a really bad move from my perspective. I wasn't able to comprehend what you had hidden behind that hand. Seems like I really need to work on my ability to read ahead to be able to match you."

"Ah! You're still better than me on a whole. Look at this mistake I made here," Hikaru pointed at a stone at intersection 5-14, which Akira agreed with a little reluctantly. After all, it wasn't exactly what someone should do when they are trying to convince the other party that he was better.

Anxious to get back on even grounds with Hikaru, Akira raised his hand to point out one of his faults. "I didn't do too well here either."

Sai just stood around and watched as the two bickered back and forth, throwing each other compliments and yet putting themselves down. Really, neither of them wanted to admit that they were superior to the other, probably preferring to be on equal standings with the other while subconsciously building on the belief that the other was their eternal rival, well, that may apply to just Akira. Hikaru simply looked like he was convincing himself that everybody would be above him forever.

Sai sighed. Oh what would he do with his host's inferiority complex when it came to Go?

The ghost made himself comfortable as he prepared to sit through unwanted compliments and self invoked criticisms. Really, these two boys were something. Sai had yet to come across a pair such as them while he was still alive or during his 'life' with Torajirou. Most Go players were either extremely brash and narcissistic or else rather introverted, replying with only one word answers.

Of course, that wasn't to say that Go players weren't allowed to degrade themselves as and when they wished to like the two before him. He was probably the only one aside from the teachers that noticed their petty fight, and yet only one of them would ever realize they had an audience, but he hadn't.

"Ogata 9-dan? Who's that? Sounds like an old man." Ah, so the conversation had strayed from praising each other to the highest to other people related to Akira. Sai observed that they were much more open to each other than before. Perhaps quarrelling was their way of breaking the ice.

"You don't know who Ogata 9-dan? How could you not? His face has to be in one out of every two issues of Go weekly," Akira answered, partly bemused and mostly irritated, whacking Hikaru lightly on the head as his patience thinned. He had spent his whole of his life thinking that anyone who played Go in Japan would have at least heard the name Ogata before, and yet there just so happened that his first real rival happened to not know about Ogata 9-dan at all.

"Is he good at Go? Or is he just one of those people that tended to attract tons of attention to himself whether he wanted to or not?" Hikaru questioned further, apparently clueless to the movements of the Go world.

Now, Akira was beginning to get desperate, because even if Shindou had never heard of the Ogata 9-dan before (which was totally illegal for a Go player), he should at least be able to identify what the '9-dan' following the name meant. "Please, Shindou, he's a 9-dan."

"Oh, right," Hikaru exclaimed after a while and projected a sheepish grin. "Didn't notice."

Akira raised an eyebrow. "I realized." Really, Shindou had one of the most ridiculous tendencies to leave out important bits of information and only absorbed the extremely irrelevant ones, or in worst case scenario, nothing at all. It made Akira wonder if he had ever heard someone wrongly and gain knowledge of things that most definitely untrue.

A sharp scraping of a chair alerted to the two that the second boards had just concluded their game. A brief glance told all there was to it. Tsutsui was standing over his game with a hand dripping with tears pressed firmly against his eyes. Without so much as a backward look, he dashed out of the room.

Hikaru's mirth from the conversation from a while back was quickly replaced by solemnness as he turned back to Akira. "Well, I guess I won't be staying to watch your game. No matter how the first board turns out, we would still be unable to proceed. Thanks for the game, by the way." He gave a slight, stiff bow and gathered all the black stones into his container just in time to witness Mitani push his chair aside and exit the room in a manner of the least courtesy.

"Sorry the game couldn't have been more," Hikaru apologized with a strained smile, setting the cover over his container.

Akira shrugged, gathering his own stones. "It's okay if you could come to the salon. A few years time is okay. I'll be waiting, and I expect a good game. Who knows, maybe you'll even decide to come earlier."

"I'm gonna have to disappoint you again, Touya," Hikaru laughed lightly. "At the rate you're growing, I doubt I'll be able to catch up to you anytime soon." He gave the slightest of waves and raced after his long gone teammates.

"Yeah," Akira whispered to himself, eyes focusing on where Hikaru had been just a mere second ago. "I'll be waiting." Silently, he got out the chair and proceeded to the rest of his teammates, regaining the cool façade that had been on until Hikaru chipped it off.

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There! Done! I revised quite a bit, so I hope it's much less rushed than the previous chapter 1. Yay! I hope. XP Anyway, you might have noticed that Hikaru is now extremely strange, and that Akira is a bit out of character too. Forgive me, I didn't mean for such a huge personality change. It just sort of felt right while I was creating this revised chapter, but now that I look back, it does seem a little strange, though I most certainly do NOT want to redo this, so I'm leaving it as it is. Akira and Hikaru's relationship may seem a little…uh…shounen-ai-ish, but this is NOT a slash fic. Repeat, this is NOT slash.

**I do hope it's much more satisfactory than the previous one, since I poured so much time and effort into this one. It is my sincerest wish that the first chapter shall deter people no longer to read this fiction, because I really know how bad my narrations are (THEY ARE SIMPLY HORRENDOUS) but I want people to get the plot, because it is the idea that I wanted to get across. I really do sympathize with those who plow through this story for the plot when there is such terrible sentence structure, because I myself know how that feels like…I've read fictions where the plot is just mind-blowing, but the way the author uses words are…uh…not so mind-blowing? No, actually, they're rather mind-blowing, but in a bad way.**


	2. Recognized

**Back. It's Chinese New Year. I haven't got much going for me other than visiting my super extended family members. It's good to get some money from the grown-ups, but it would be nicer if they wouldn't waste their money on me. I don't do investments. I hated doing this chapter a lot, read on and you'll find out why. This is quite a disappointing chapter. I promise chapter 4 (yes, not chapter 3) would be much much much much better because I got some originality in that one.**

**Anyway, do I have to place a disclaimer on the second chapter too?**

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**Two Sides to a Face…or More**

**Chapter 2: Recognized**

_Hikaru!_ Instinctively, Hikaru slammed his clapped his hands over his ears. It was getting harder to let Sai play recently, especially with Akira drifting about the Go world. He'd need somewhere where he could let Sai play, and undercover too. So to make up, Hikaru brought Sai to one of the NCC Cup matches where games were spelt out over a huge magnetic Go board.

The ghost clung onto Hikaru pathetically as Hikaru tried to make his way to the exit at the top most level of the auditorium. _Sai, I can't just sit there! I couldn't sit still anymore. I'll let you play more often, alright?_

Hikaru knew Sai's simple-minded nature well. As long as he got to play Go, he was extremely satisfied, even if it were one game only. As expected, the ghost's face lit up with a bright smile and nodded his head in anticipation, clasping his hands around Hikaru's shoulders and shouting, "_Yay! Let's go find someone to play! Someone to play!_"

Chuckling, Hikaru headed for the exit. Between them and the exit was a set-up of computers, and a bespectacled boy sat before one of them. Hikaru peered over his shoulder curiously, spotting a Go board on the screen. The boy was totally dominated.

_Hey, Sai, come watch this for a minute_. Sai floated closer to Hikaru, slightly distraught at the fact that Hikaru could be drawn toward something other than Go, but perked up slightly when he saw the screen.

"Are you here with your father?" a voice asked from behind him.

"No, with a friend." Turning around, Hikaru spotted a man, probably the one who asked the question, seeing as there was really no one else around.

"Oh, that's rare. Do you own a computer?"

"Nope." Behind him, Sai was curiously peering at the computer over Hikaru's shoulder, using Hikaru as a shield if something should pop out from the screen and threaten him with a machete.

"So you aren't interested in the internet?" The man walked steadily toward him, gently asking.

"Internet?" What's that?

"Yeah, this kid is playing an opponent on the internet right now. The kid is black," the man explained slowly to allow Hikaru to grasp an understanding. Hikaru was eager to learn, seeing as it was Go related after all and didn't require him to sit about doing nothing when he himself could play. A white circle appeared on the screen.

"And…see, the opponent just placed a white stone. It's his turn now."

Hikaru observed both the electronic board and the boy, who had his bottom chin jutting out in concentration (or so Hikaru thought). The arrow hovered over a particular intersection, and Hikaru thought, _Hey, if you place it there, he'll take your stones._

As if wanting to lose (either that or his ability to read ahead was really lacking as he couldn't even predict the next two moves), with a click of the mouse, he allowed white to secure a huge reward.

_See?_

Bam! The keyboard shuddered under the sudden slamming of a hand on it. Rising quickly, the boy left the scene in a huff.

"Oh! What are you doing? This isn't a video game, there is a real opponent!" The man's desperate calls were ignored. Hurriedly, he placed himself on the seat and started typing, but the mystery person who was playing white got to him first.

"Too late…" the man muttered to himself. It was quite a comical scene, really.

"Wow! This looks fun!" As usual, Hikaru was picking up new things, though how long the interest would last was an entirely different matter altogether.

The man suddenly spoke. "I wonder if he's a kid?"

"Kid? This guy's a kid?" Hikaru leant closer to the computer.

"Well, with his response and screen name, he seems like a kid."

"Screen name?"

"It's your name while on the internet. See, that's his."

"Zelda? Ah, so kids are on this thing too."

"Well, that's just what I'm assuming. On the internet, you don't see the face, or age, or real name, so you can't be sure. Of course, kids use it too…not just kids, but foreigners too, look…JPN is Japan, CHN is China, CAN is Canada, USA, GER, there's a bunch, right? All the people on this list challenge each other. It's very easy to learn and the controls are simple."

_Your face, age, and real name are not known…I could disguise myself and play…this is it!_

"Would you teach me how to use it?"

* * *

_Hikaru, we saw a box like this yesterday._ Sai had been appeased when Hikaru stayed up till early morning to plan places to go with him the night before, but even though they came up with nothing, Sai was just glad that Hikaru would bother looking out for him.

_Yup, same as yesterday_. It would be fun to see the ghost have fun once in a while, and while the physical manifestation of his fascination with modern day technology was quite an interesting sight to see, it got slightly annoying after some time.

_I am aware that the world changes with time so I didn't bother to ask what this thing but what are you trying to do, Hikaru?_

_I'm trying to make it so you can play as much Go as you wish, just hold on._

_Huh? Huh? Huh? Hikaru, what did you just say?_ Sai was, of course, extremely happy about it, but still found no connection between the box and him being able to play as much Go as he wanted.

He pestered his host as Hikaru started a conversation with the lady who was teaching him how to use the computer. If he remembered correctly, the lady was Mitani's sister.

_Hikaru! Hikaru!_

A few more sentences on Hikaru's side and the lady left. Hikaru turned to Sai, "Now, we first need to choose a name."

_Heh hey! As much as I wish? Really? Hurry hurry!_

_Alright alright…hold on. Name is…S – A – I._

_SAI._

No one could fathom how huge a stir the name would cause in the near future, especially not Hikaru.

* * *

_Foreigners are annoying._ A game had just ended in resignation (on the opponent's part, of course) and a small screen popped up with a conversation started in English. English was only compulsory in the syllabus starting seventh grade, and thus, Hikaru, who was in seventh grade, had absolutely no idea what he was talking about.

He had Mitani's sister translate it for him, and tried to cover up his 'ability' with a lie when he found out that the foreigner meant to ask him if he were a pro.

_Hmm, this is so mysterious. How come you can play Go against so many people with this box?_

_I told you not to ask me that…_ Even Hikaru himself wasn't sure of the finer details of it, but Sai was worse. He didn't even know the rough concept. He thought the box stored people. Hikaru laughed as Sai tapped a clothed hand on the computer.

"Should we pick a Japanese person this time? Ah!" The name 'Zelda' flashed up on the screen. "Zelda! From that time! Alright, let's play him!"

_Yay! Play, play!_

_You're enjoying this, Sai._ Seeing the ghost so happy made Hikaru feel good.

_Yes, of course._

_I'll let you do this a while. It's summer break. He's Japanese. This one my just be a kid._

_A child? Hikaru, don't make a mistake. Like that last time…_

_Hey… I told you I'm still getting used to this…_

Countless of hands were exchanged, with Hikaru sitting in the front as Sai directed from behind, much like filming a movie. Most of the fine details were decided by the director, while carrying them out was the job of the actors and actresses.

_So? Sai, how's his ability?_

…_Strong more so than all the others. 1-10._

_Ahh… Huh? But he just resigned._

_Because he is strong he quickly understands the situation. He realized by ability and likely thought that to continue was pointless. Those who lack ability do not realize this and continue playing Go they cannot win. Like you used to, Hikaru._

_Who asked you? Anyway, is he really a kid?_

"Hey, Mitani's sister. Would you send over 'I'm strong, ain't I' to this guy?"_I wonder if he'll respond._

"You won again? Wow!"

_He he, the internet sure is fun._

A 'beep' from the computer told him Zelda had replied. 'Who are you! I'm an 'insei'!'

_Insei? Zelda…is someone who is trying to become a pro!_

* * *

"Since July, he's been online a lot for a month. Plus, he replied to me with "I'm strong, ain't I?" Isn't that a bit childish?" Waya Yoshitaka was an insei aspiring to be a pro. His teacher, Morishita 9-dan, had invited him along to an amateur tournament, when people started discussing about Sai.

Waya played NetGo with the handle Zelda. A week or two back, he ran into an extremely strong opponent called SAI, the mysterious online player shrouded in mystery. No one knew anything about him other than the fact that he was from Japan, and that his Go was that of a slightly more modernized Shuusaku.

Akira watched with Ogata 9-dan as the fuel the young insei fed to the blazing conversation caused him hell when the foreign amateurs started harassing him for answers.

"He might be a child." Akira knew that Ogata had directed the question to him. The image of a Shindou Hikaru towered over his mind.

"Anyone come to mind, Akira-kun?" Ogata pried.

Akira held his gaze firmly. "Yes, Ogata-san. He may just be the one." He couldn't forget the game they had played during the Junior High Tournament. Just how could he? His style fit Shuusaku's almost perfectly, though he may be quite a few notches below.

Someone brought out a laptop and laid it before Ogata. "Here's a laptop that can access the internet."

"Akira-kun."

"Yes?"

"Sai might be on. I'd like you to take a look."

Wordlessly, Akira took a seat before the computer and tapped his fingers lightly on the keyboard, his eyes slowly scanning the screen. "He's on," he finally declared, and all eyes turned to him.

* * *

"He he. We won again today. You always win, so this feels great!"

_Hikaru, that last one wasn't very impressive, but…there are many tough ones in this box._ Sai glared determinedly at the computer.

"Seems like it. Huh? Akira? Ugh. The screen. Geez...so many people want to play…cancel…cancel…Akira. There's an Akira. Is it Touya? Yeah right. Ah! Another challenge. Arg. Turn them all down…Damn it. Again! Cancel. Cancel. It never ends…there, finally." An outsider would have thought him strange to be muttering to himself before a computer, especially with the words he used.

Hikaru moved his mouse and clicked.

* * *

_Beep!_ "Oh!" Akira's eyes lighted.

"SAI has requested to play you!"

* * *

_Akira? Hikaru, you just said "Akira". Is Touya Akira in this box?_

_I'm just saying it could be._

_Touya! Touya is?_ Sai clambered for the computer and tried to find Akira in the box, which was a hopelessly futile attempt, as all people of the twenty-first century know, but to Sai, it was just an amazing discovery. Not to forget, he was intangible.

_No it's not. Akira is a common name._

Sai flashed a pathetic look. _It's not?_

_Oh, he accepted._ "Touya…I'd sure like to let him play Sai. It would be nice if this was him. His wish would come true and he wouldn't even know he's playing me."

_Should we test him, Hikaru?_

"Huh?"

_Whether this person is Touya or not. We might be able to find out. Choose black._

"Black?" _What are you gonna do?_

_First hand, 17-4._

"White's gone to the upper left star."

_16-17._

"White's gone to 4-17.

_15-3._

_Next white is…huh? What's going on? He's thinking? Oh, he's gone after the bottom right. Next?_ Hikaru looked as Sai expectantly.

Sai had a look of concentration on his face mixed with fierce fighting spirit. _…Until now he's played the same way as that time._

_That time? Oh…_

_Yes, my second game with Touya when I sliced him in half. The game from that time…15-16._

"…He's not going…"

_Does this mean…that it is Touya? Maybe he remembers that game and has stopped because of that._

"…Touya…wait, then that means…" _That he's realized it's me! This is bad!_

* * *

"This…it really is…" Akira's eyes widened. Shindou Hikaru. The Shindou Hikaru from the first time they met was this mysterious SAI. The one who had crushed so many others and yet died at his hands. No way…

"Looks like he used Shuusaku's starting strategies."

"This…this…"

"Akira-kun?"

* * *

The computer initiated a sound to alert the user that his opponent had made his move.

_See? He's play the same way as that time!_

_Sai, this is bad. If he finds out it's me, things could get complicated. Play differently from now on._ Hikaru was desperate. He couldn't let Akira find out who SAI was. He couldn't let Akira find out he was the one behind the name 'SAI', even though he was only carrying out orders.

_Then how about 4-18?_

"You think that will fool him?"

_Probably._

Hikaru couldn't help his wandering thoughts on whether this 'Akira' was Touya or not. A second passed, then a minute, then two minutes.

_He's not going…_ There was a slight tinge of disappointment in Sai's voice.

_Already in deep thought? Geez…_

_Beep!_

_Huh? He resigned?_

* * *

"Akira-kun?"

"Resigned?" The high seas of foreign amateurs cried out in surprise. Surely, Touya Akira couldn't have already decided that SAI was better than him by just a few hands, could he?

"If I keep playing, it will distract from the tournament. I will challenge him on a different day." Akira started typing one the keyboard as the crowd fell silent at his words.

_Beep!_

Akira read the screen. "Next Sunday. We'll have our rematch next Sunday."

"Next Sunday?"

"We will be back home by then."

"I thought I'd learn something about SAI while in Japan…" There was no end to the dissatisfaction felt by the participants and spectators in the tournament.

"Ogata-san, I'm going to excuse myself for today. I'm sorry, Shimano-san." Akira pushed the chair in and took his leave.

"Akira-kun…"

Mutterings surrounded Akira as he made his exit. "Who's he?" "Japan's top player, Touya-Meijin's son." "Why did SAI challenge him?" "Is he a pro?" "It's rare for SAI to challenge someone."

Among them was Waya, but he never voiced his thoughts out loud. _Play the game next Sunday? He agreed without hesitation. That's the first day of the pro exam. One loss means nothing to him? He'd rather have fun playing some unknown guy on the net?_

Waya knew better than to be angry, but he couldn't help it. Touya Akira just seemed to be mocking the pro exam and the people taking it. It was like going pro was just something that everyone did, like learning to walk.

* * *

Akira fell back on his chair and closed his eyes. Sweat was rolling off his face but he didn't care. All he knew was that the person, this SAI he had played, was strong. So strong that while he could still manage to put up a fight, in his heart, he knew he was dead.

The similarity in the play and Shindou's was uncanny, but the strength was above him. He felt sure that this SAI could not be Shindou, but for a fleeting moment, doubt crept into his heart and took its roots. He still couldn't be sure.

"It's him. It has to be." But what was that game during the tournament? The weak attack, the crumbling defense, the struggle to keep up…but there was that brilliant turning point in the game just before the endgame, though the endgame was weak.

The Shindou that he chased, the one that appeared before him the first time they met, and it was this very same SAI. It had to be. But how could it be possible for a person to have two hands? And the game was only possible due to the experience on SAI's part…no…it can't be him. Shindou Hikaru was not a year over thirteen. It couldn't be him.

Akira moved to type a message, hoping to gain some insight to the wonderfully complex situation, but SAI disappeared from the screen before he could start. SAI had always been a step ahead of him, and always will be. He may well be over hundred steps ahead, or even a thousand.

A modern Shuusaku.

* * *

He had been so stupid. Ran across the city just to look for Shindou. He couldn't believe he had even suspected Shindou of being SAI.

Akira had indeed caught him in an internet café, but he was simply browsing through Jump's website. He was disappointed, somehow, when Hikaru had told him that he wasn't SAI. He didn't want to believe it. He wanted to believe that Hikaru was SAI. He wanted a strong opponent other than his father. He needed a change of pace.

Hikaru had an air of friendliness around him, leaving little to doubt him of. He was the type to be extremely open, or was Akira wrong in assuming that so quickly? The bleached fringe boy smiled when Akira let his disappointment show through. He promised that one day, he'd rise to his level and compete with him as an equal and not an ant dreaming of becoming an eagle.

Somehow, Akira was happy to hear that. He was satisfied, even. Then Hikaru asked to clarify if the offer of going to his father's Go salon was valid, and Akira said yes, but this time, he allowed Hikaru to take his time and get there. He didn't want to pressure someone who might very well be his future rival, no he didn't.

Hikaru had openly admitted that he watched many of SAI's games, and that was due to the fact that he was a Shuusaku fan, and though it sounded relatively sketchy next to the other statements he had made, Akira chose to believe him. That would explain the SAI-like game he played at the tournament, but not the first time they met, since the games played then were quite a bit too good to be true. Akira never pried Hikaru too far when that was concerned, because he could tell that he didn't want to talk about it, and Akira respected that. Anyway, their fluke percentage deferred a lot. While SAI won every game he played, Hikaru…well, all his greater games were mainly due to luck.

Someday, though, Shindou Hikaru would be a name that infected every Go magazine there was, Akira was sure of it, but why, he was clueless. It was the first time he had ever relied on gut feeling.

* * *

There were only two occupants in the deathly silent room — Tsutsui and Hikaru. They had finished territory counting, and the victor had emerged by two and a half moku.

"You've really improved, Shindou," Tsutsui said, perspiration all over his face. It had been such a tough game. He must have done a lot of leveling up during the holidays.

"Yeah." Hikaru looked down at the Go board which spelt out their game…and his victory. "Tsutsui-san, what do think of it?"

Flustered, Tsutsui came up with a reply, "It was good, very good. This move here undid my trap. The one over there blocked my attack. You've really become much better."

"It's nothing. I think this game is quite due to luck. You wouldn't mind another game, would you?"

"Ah! I'll be glad!" The stones were returned back to their respective containers and the players chose for colour.

Close to forty-five minutes later, the game drew to a close. Tsutsui had won by half a moku. "That was a close call. It didn't feel like I won at all. You kept pushing me about…"

Hikaru shrugged. "I had to. If I didn't, I wouldn't even be a challenge!" He went easy on Tsutsui, but maybe he needed to go even easier on him. How about a teaching game instead? That would be more beneficial for him instead of getting kicked about the board.

Hikaru didn't like the idea of beating other people. He hated the look of defeat etched on their faces when they admitted their loss. It was painful for him, and it might be even more agonizing for his opponent. He himself had never minded defeat, as he got to see Sai's games almost every day during the summer holidays, and that was enough to show him there were more powerful players lurking about.

"Say, Tsutsui-san, how much does one of those foldable boards we got recently cost?"

* * *

A few days after his game with Tsutsui, a parcel arrived at the Shindou's residence. Hikaru placed its contents in the middle of his room. "Yup. Perfect. Having a Go board in my room ain't a bad feeling." Beside him, Sai was running about the room in ecstacy.

The Go board was a gift from his grandpa who felt that if Hikaru would grow even more with the presence of a Go board, it was a cheap price to pay. After all, he had improved by leaps and bounds during the holidays alone.

_Now now! Now, Hikaru!_

It had been a while since Hikaru had asked Sai to play against him, but seeing as he didn't own a Go board then, their game was postponed till now. "Alright alright." Hikaru opened one of the containers to reveal shiny black stones. "Cool! Brand new is great, even if it's cheap. Let's play."

_Hikaru, you can place as many stones as you wish._

"As many as I wish? What's that? I don't need a handicap!"

A few moments later, despite his boastful claims, he lost spectacularly to Sai, and during the course of the game, Sai had changed positions and methods of conveying where he wanted his next stone to go at least once each.

The game after their first saw Hikaru losing big-time again, finally giving up and leaving the cleaning up to Sai, who just stared at his hands and protested with a childish tone. _Huh? Hikaru!_

**

* * *

**

Oh great, I just lifted out of the manga AGAIN. I just wish the story would get on its own way quickly. Maybe I should just have skipped out these parts. It's extremely hard to narrate scenes from the manga. I couldn't grasp Sai's reaction to Hikaru in the last paragraph. I don't like translating pictures into words, especially that of human emotions. It was so irritating to keep referring back to the manga every few seconds, and back again when I forget what the lines are or how the image looked like.

**I'm really such a failure at these kind of stuff. I suppose that there are some who enjoys doing thing, but I certainly don't. It's hard to keep the story line glued to the original when I have expressions that do NOT go well with the storyline. Every time I lift from the manga, it's just goes too fast because everything is in dialogue and is extremely hard to (as above) translate images into words.**

**What's more, I need to make minor tweaks in the conversation and plot, which makes it even worse. I don't favour using the original plot in the story, because it makes me look like a thief, but there are some times when a total change in plot isn't necessary and a little adjustment would do the trick. But it kinda sucks when I do that. I don't like the pace.**

**Anyway, to Alex Wang: ARGH! I can't believe I forgot about Mitani's play style! Anyway, by aggressive I meant kind of fast, and the way he places his stones seem kind of rough too, don't you think? I don't mean his style, actually, just his method…if you get what I mean.**


	3. The Ocean Between

**NOOO! I still have to lift from the manga, but I hope this will be the final one, since Hikaru…I'm not going to spoil the story.**

* * *

**Two Sides to a Face…or More**

**Chapter 3: The Ocean Between**

_Hikaru, are you still alive? Hikaru? Are you alright?_ Sai tried to shake his host's shoulders, but his hands only slipped through. Sai was worried. He was very worried. It wasn't like Hikaru had just met with an accident or anything and was on the brink of death. It was on a different scale altogether.

Hikaru had beaten Mitani in an even game, and both of them were just simply staring at the board. Surely, his declaration he made a few nights back after revisiting the Go class he used to go to and beating Akota-san that he might defeat Mitani one day couldn't have come through so easily, right?

It was only natural that Hikaru would stare at the game and drop his jaw. Wait, that wasn't natural. The normal Hikaru would just shout and scream about how he defeated Mitani. This was getting stranger by the second.

"Another game. I want another game." Mitani demanded. He couldn't accept his defeat. This boy whom he had so easily crushed just a few months back had gotten back at him.

"Okay."

Like the games with Tsutsui, Hikaru lost their second game, this time making sure he played teaching games instead and lose by a fair amount of four and a half moku. A huge difference, but he could just say it was an extreme fluke the previous time, could he not?

Mitani didn't look satisfied, and frankly, neither was Hikaru. He needed more challenging opponents. Ones that were not Sai, anyway. He played him so often he could almost predict his next move.

* * *

_More manga, Hikaru?_

_No, shut up. I need an English dictionary since you're useless when it comes to English._

_I can't help that._

_That zero percent on the last test wasn't too good…_ Hikaru spotted a guy that looked relatively familiar standing by a small section of books at knee level. "Oh. Kaio's captain." The way the teen looked at him, Hikaru felt like he had committed a grave offense by calling out his position. Quickly, he covered his mouth and turned away. "Oops."

"Wait."

"Huh?"

"Are you free right now?"

Minutes later, Hikaru was led to a Go salon, where the first captain paid the fee and they both settled down at the table Hikaru had chosen.

"You wanted to know something?"

"You're true ability." The Kaio student's eyes glinted. "Is that alright?"

They chose for colour, before exchanging the containers and pleasantries, and then game began. They barely noticed as a man stood by them and watched their game, before leaving to comment to the salon's receptionist on how good they were.

"About even with our second captain."

Hikaru looked up in surprise. He didn't look like one to talk much.

The young man started pointing at the stones on the board. "This hand here was very good…not just that, you have good patience to not hurry the game."

_Wow, the Kaio captain complimented me_. Hikaru was flushed with pride, but that did not last long.

"But that Touya sees you as a rival, I can't imagine…"

Hanging his head, Hikaru had a feeling that he had known this would have come all along.

"Or do you have something?"

Hikaru stated the obvious, "Touya just over-estimated me. He then got disappointed when he saw my ability at the tournament. That's all."

"And? Are you going to let it end like that?" Kaio's first captain had always been tough with words, but that sentence sounded like a mystery to Hikaru.

"Huh?"

"You must have something that attracts Touya to you. Aren't you…going to chase after him?"

"Well…I guess I have something…but…he is my goal. Well, I'll catch up to him someday," Hikaru scratched the back of his head uncomfortably. He wasn't sure how to react when someone glared down at him from above. Sai never did that.

"Someday? That's a huge difference from Touya. I'm not talking about the gap in ability but the difference in the intensity in going after your goal. You may not know how he was at the Kaio Go club. Touya chased after you with all the force that he had…you'll catch him someday? When is that? Touya has already…passed the pro exam." The youth looked like he was mocking him.

"Is that true Kishimoto-kun?" the man at the reception asked. "That lasts two months so it's not over yet, right?"

"He said so himself to the teacher at school. Beginning next year he will be a pro player."

"What are you talking about? He's only in seventh grade." Hikaru was growing more and more uncomfortable, both at the atmosphere and the fact that Akira might just be well out of his reach.

"Most begin as pros in their teens."

"The average person doesn't know much about that," the receptionist chipped in, "It's a strange job."

"What about school?"

"You miss on game days."

"Miss? You can miss school? Won't the teacher get mad?" Hikaru thought for a moment. It certainly was a strange job. Not many jobs are offered to students. "Pro, I thought him becoming pro was a long time off…this fast? I thought when he was an adult…"

"Adult? He he. By that time Touya will be in a place nobody can reach. Touya will start next spring…and will likely advance faster than anyone. If you don't chase him with all you have now, you'll never catch him."

"I never thought about it much. I just thought if I keep playing Go that I'd catch up to him." He was starting to feel embarrassed.

"Hahaha." Kishimoto's laugh sounded extremely fake, and not to mention his glasses looked particularly sinister. "Skipping merrily while chasing Touya? What a joke. Where is the you he was chasing? Well, it's not something that matters to me. Can we end this game here? My advantage won't change. Sorry to take up your time."

Hikaru sighed. _The me that Touya was chasing…that was Sai. I'm doing my best to be me…damn…_

"Hey, for Touya to pass this early, did he win all his games"

"He lost one, but it was a default loss." Kishimoto pushed his glasses up his nose.

"What?"

"I don't know the reason but he missed the first day. I think it was the last Sunday of August."

"Miss a day of the pro exam? No way!"

Hikaru pieced the puzzle together. Last Sunday of August, that day on the internet…Kishimoto's words suddenly invaded his mind. _I'm not talking about the gap in ability but the difference in the intensity in going after your goal._

"Um…how do you take the pro exam?"

"The exam is once a year. It will be next summer."

"Plus, you aren't at the level to take the test."

"You should become an insei and gain strength. You know about insei? From the Japanese Go Association."

"Yeah, you get to study with a bunch of strong players trying to become pro."

"Sorry, but right now, you're not even good enough to be an insei." The only sentence Kishimoto chipped in for that round of conversation almost crushed Hikaru.

_Touya will start next spring, and likely advance faster than anyone…_

"Sai, I can now clearly see the distance between Touya and me. If I want to catch him then I must easily pass the insei test, beat up all these insei guys, and then pass this pro exam (which I don't know anything about yet…) without losing a single game."

That night, over the Go board displaying his latest on-going game with Sai, Hikaru decided that to pass the insei test easily, he'd have to go and shape up. He could sacrifice a few months for that, couldn't he? It was better than failing the insei test on his first try and then losing his spirit.

* * *

"Grandpa, do you know any Go salons?" Hikaru's mother had asked him to bring something over to his grandpa's house, and so Hikaru did, taking the chance to ask his grandpa the question that had been on his mind all day (and all night) long.

Shindou Heihachi looked at him with surprise. "I didn't know you enjoyed going to Go salons. Well, they are a good place to learn. There's one just at the outskirts of town. Here, I'll draw you a map. You'll need it. The salon's pretty hard to find."

"Hey, grandpa, why don't you take me there personally? It'll be fun. I think." Hikaru needed to shape up. He needed to shape up a lot. Kishimoto had told him he wasn't at insei standard yet, so passing the insei test easily would have required a great power-up.

Heihachi grinned at his grandson's enthusiasm. When he tried to teach his son Go, he couldn't even grasp the fundamentals, and he had absolutely no passion for the game at all, but his grandson here, Hikaru, was brimming with potential. Heihachi guessed that not even a tenth was fulfilled.

"If that peaks your interest in the game, by all means." Heihaci really was a softie for such stuff.

"Yes! Tomorrow. Yeah. We could go tomorrow. Would that be okay, grandpa?" Hikaru suggested. He couldn't wait, even though he'd be playing against geezers…but well, if they were as good as his grandpa, it wouldn't hurt, would it?

That certainly was unexpected. He never thought his grandson would want to go that quickly. That aside, Heihachi was very happy that he had picked up Go. Hikaru would be coming around more often to rid the old man of his boredom, and what's better was the fact that Hikaru would do so with Go.

"Tomorrow is good."

Hikaru grinned. "Okay! Now, grandpa, how about a game? I should have improved. You know, come to think of it, I don't think your Go has gotten any better."

"Why you…!"

* * *

"Prepare yourself. The smoke from cigarettes here can be quite nauseating," Heihachi warned his grandson, who covered his nose and nodded. Chuckling at the antic, he pushed open the door.

The grouchy old lady at the reception desk greeted them. "Two?"

"Yes. How much would that be?" Heihachi fingered his wallet for a moment.

Hikaru knew that his grandpa didn't work, and his money came from the monthly ones his son gave him. "Grandpa, I'll pay. I've saved up some money since I stopped buy manga for a while," Hikaru offered and dished out his own wallet, pulling out a few notes and placing them on the counter. "You bought me the Go board, remember?"

Heihachi chortled, "Yes, I did, didn't I?"

They walked deeper into the salon and wandered about the games being played. Most of them were pretty good, though there were ones that stuck out like a sore thumb.

Hikaru lingered over one of the boards that looked quite interesting. It wasn't too deep a game, Hikaru could tell, but he couldn't even dream of playing like that for a while. Sai kept crushing him and his spirits went spiraling down.

_I'm sorry…_

_Nah, it's not your fault you're so good._

The game held the confidence of both players, who pushed each other about with faith in their abilities. The more Hikaru watched, the more he felt inept, not ability wise, but in terms of belief in his own strength. Well, watching the game probably wasn't such a great idea after all. It dragged his spirit down more than up.

_Hikaru, you fear my attack over the board._

_I what?_ Hikaru started at the sudden iput.

_You're afraid of my invasion. You're scared, Hikaru. Now that you've gotten better, you can see the tip of my sword and you're afraid to jump in. You play too cautiously._

_And that's supposed to mean...?_ Hikaru had absolutely no idea where the conversation was leading to. Was Sai criticizing his play?

_You are afraid of attacking. You keep defending because you're afraid I may pierce through your defense. Your prolonged play against me, a superior player, has ruined your trust in your own strength. You've got to regain that. Every time you play against me, you cower. It shows in your games against your grandpa too._ Sai felt like he was explaining the concept of how atoms, clearly non-living things, could form cells, which were living things, to a grade school kid. Well, Hikaru just got out of grade school a year ago, but still.

_Is this like a suggestion to help me improve?_

_Something like that._

_Oh. Thanks then._ Smiling brightly at Sai, Hikaru felt enlightened. Sai had always offered useful advice.

Hikaru continued watching the game, where he had determined that black would emerge victorious, seeing as how he had dominated for almost the whole game, unless endgame was not his specialty.

On cue, white resigned, exclaiming about how black had gotten him at 12-8.

The game discussion was pretty short and shallow. Maybe it was just him. Sai always launched into lectures after every game, and he read extremely deeply too. Perhaps he was comparing them with the wrong standard.

The man who played black suddenly looked up. "Oh, we have a new person today." He had spiky black hair and was in a uniform. His upper lip stuck out like a duck. "Why don't we play a game?"

"Huh? Uh…okay."

The man who played white gave way to him, and Hikaru grabbed a few white stones and placed them on the Go board.

"Oh, I'm black again. And by the way, kid, my name is Kawai. I'm a taxi-driver. What's yours?"

"Shindou. Shindou Hikaru." Hikaru gestured toward his grandfather who was standing beside him and watching on with great interest. "This is my grandpa, Shindou Heihachi."

"You're quite the filial child, aren't you?" Kawai leant forward and ruffled Hikaru's hair, much to his displeasure.

"Ugh! Kawai-san!"

Kawai chuckled and returned to his seat. "Well, first hand's mine, so I'll be going. Please."

"Please."

* * *

"Brat, you're not bad!" Kawai peered at the board and exclaimed. He scratched his chin with his left hand, leaving his right free. Picking a stone and placing it on the board, he asked, "How long have you been playing?"

"Almost a year," Hikaru answered.

Kawai shot out of his chair, "A year?"

Hikaru couldn't do anything but wonder what his sudden exclamation was about. Was he playing too sloppily for someone who had been playing for a year? Did he not meet the standards? Was playing Sai almost every day not enough?

Without warning, Kawai rammed his hand into his hair and messed it up again.

"Kawai-san! Not again!" Hikaru tried to get Kawai to stop fluffing his hair, but fell far short of success.

"How do you do that? You've only been playing for a year, have you not?"

"Yes. I already said that." _Do adults have to repeat everything?_ Hikaru silently demanded.

_Hikaru!_

Realizing his mistake, Hikaru quickly apologized, _Sorry, Sai. I didn't mean that to apply to you. Once again, this sentence was meant for the __**living**__._

_Why don't you ever take me into consideration?_ Hikaru could tell Sai was hurt. Sai's emotions had always managed to find a way to get to him whenever they were stronger than usual, like his depression when they first met.

_I'm just…interacting with the outside world now._

_And I'm not in it, huh._ Sai's hurt had turned into annoyance.

_Well, technically, you're not._ A smart retort should do the trick. He should be able to ignore Sai for a while now.

Sai started whining, _Hikaru!_

Yup. He could ignore him. There wasn't much to pay attention to when Sai started his whining routine. He always got tired of it after a while and would find something else to keep him entertained, like maybe that little fish tank by the side of the salon.

"You're really good for someone who had just started," Kawai admitted reluctantly.

"What?" Hikaru hadn't expected that. Sai was always leaving him in the dust, telling him how he still had a long way to go. That was quite a refreshing statement.

"I said…"

Before Kawai could continue, Hikaru interrupted, "I heard what you said, crystal clear. It's just the disbelief."

"I'm surprised you didn't know about your exponential growth, Hikaru." Heihachi had been standing still and silent for a while now, so when he spoke, Hikaru almost flew right up into the ceiling.

"Grandpa!"

"You're really good, Hikaru, anyone can tell. Why don't you join the insei?" At Heihachi's suggestion, Hikaru felt a sudden down turn in mood.

"Someone told me I wasn't good enough."

"Well, your level of skill may not be there yet, but your fast growth should convince them, right?" The insei classes were for promising Go players below the age of nineteen. What the future could hold would be something that they might consider.

"I want to pass based on skill, not potential. I want to be sure of the present before I can be sure of the future." Hikaru didn't know what had come over him to say those words. They were more in Sai's domain.

"That's some rare words coming from you, Hikaru," Heihachi mused. His grandson wasn't one of the greater philosophers in his class or his family. Heihachi himself tended to fulfill that roll within blood relations.

Hikaru shrugged. It wasn't like he knew anything about it either. Maybe Sai took control of his body for a second time, first being the incident with Touya-Meijin.

_Hikaru! I did not take control of you! You placed the stone down by yourself, I'm serious!_

_I couldn't have done it so well on my first try. You had to be behind it to an extent._

_Maybe my genius rubbed off onto you…_

_Like that could ever happen…_

"So, brat, are you going to resign or not?" So Kawai was the hot-headed type. It wasn't that hard to figure out, really, but Hikaru was just really slow at these kind of things.

"Resign? No way! I'll play you to the end! I don't feel like I'm lacking too much!"

"Brat."

"Thank you," Hikaru said sarcastically. Kawai might be a little talkative (and rude at times), but Hikaru was starting to like him. His mouth aside, Kawai was a good person.

Hikaru could feel the thrill in the game. He had played his grandfather so often it made his senses quite numb and immune to his style, but this was fresh. Kawai was slightly better than his grandfather, and that itself was good enough for him. Sai was too good.

The stones mingled with each other, and in Hikaru's eyes, they formed endless windows of infinite possibilities. Now if only he could pry them open like Sai could…

* * *

"You better come back again soon," Kawai scowled, though Hikaru could tell he was just being 'shy' about his feelings. Just like Hikaru had become fond of Kawai, Kawai had started to dote on Hikaru like he was his own grandchild.

Their game had ended in Kawai's victory, but Hikaru hadn't given Kawai an easy time, and he knew that. Someday, he'd beat him, and the earlier the better. Playing with people who weren't Sai or his grandfather still took some time getting used to, but he was fast getting the hang of it.

After both of them collapsed against their chairs' backrests, they noticed that a whole crowd had gathered, murmuring about how, one day, Hikaru might just make it into the top pros, but Hikaru never heard a word of it. He was too caught up in replaying the game mentally. Before he knew it, all of those at the salon were rooting for him to advance up the insei.

He was showered with game requests after his game with Kawai had concluded, but due to the sheer amount of people, he couldn't play against them all, and Kawai wanted to make sure that he would return to play with the others (and of course, himself while Hikaru was at it).

"I will!" promised Hikaru, waving a hand. "Come on, grandpa, we don't want to be back late. Mum will slaughter me if I came home after dinner had gone cold."

Heihachi had never seen his grandson so full of life for a game that didn't involve much exercise like soccer did. It made his heart soar to know that his grandson would be able to pass this ancient game of Go to his descendents, where age and experience would wear off onto them, and hopefully, they'd come to love the game as much as Heihachi himself did.

When they hand long entered the subway, Hikaru asked his grandfather, "Grandpa, I'm free tomorrow, so it's likely I'll be going there again. Can you come along?"

Heihachi recalled a prior arrangement, feeling a little disappointed, he replied, "I'm sorry. I have something going on tomorrow."

"Oh. That's okay. I'll go there by myself then." Glacing back at his grandson, Heihachi spotted a look of fierce concentration on his face. Maybe he was recreating one of the many games from before and exploring the different routes he could have taken. Heihachi smiled to himself. There were just some things that happened on their own.

Unbeknownst to him, at that moment, Hikaru's mind was only occupied with ramen and which flavour he should order the next time he steps into a ramen shop.

**

* * *

**

One of the lamest endings you'll ever see, I know…anyway, Hikaru finally makes a decision that affects the whole story. Thank goodness I don't have to copy from the manga anymore. From here onward, the plot is mine. I think. I hope.

**So he decides not to be an insei immediately, and that changes the whole tide of the story. I hope Hikaru gets really good faster since he skipped the insei and went straight to difficult stuff in the Go salons. Well, at least I hope he would dive into the difficult stuff. I don't have the details planned out yet…**

**Actually, skipping step 3 and going on to step 4 is a bit risky. Most people take things step by step. Well, perhaps Hikaru is different enough to be able to skip a step…I want him to beat Isumi! I'm a great Hikaru fan. I want him to beat everybody. That's kind of impossible now, but I still want him to beat everybody. I want him to crush them. Well, I don't think he can crush Touya-sensei or Sai, but still. I can dream, can't I?**

**Oh no! I've just realized that Sai is slowly disappearing from my story…and to think he had such a big role in the start (when I pulled everything out of the manga).**

**I just realized something! I should have placed Sai's 'enlightenment' at a better place, probably between this chapter and the next so Kawai can see how much Hikaru improved…ARGH! Stupid me. I'm going to have lots of trouble changing this part, so I'm not going to, since I've already started on the next chapter and it's going to kill me to redo it…**


	4. Progress

**Finally I get some original story in! I know I'm not good at telling the story, but still, stay for the plot, yes? Thank you for being so patient with my horrible narrations. It's quite an achievement that you've arrived at this chapter. XD**

**

* * *

**

Two Sides to a Face…or More

**Chapter 4: Progress**

"We've already set up recruitment notices, and yet there's no one!" Fujisaki Akari was desperate. Well, near desperate. Their club would be almost barren once Tsutsui leaves and it wouldn't be long. He would have to prepare for High School entrance examinations, and would not have time to spare for activities such as the Go club.

Over by the window, Hikaru and Mitani were in a game. It was an extremely heated game on Mitani's part, but Hikaru was almost dozing off. It had already been a month since he'd started popping into Dougenzaka, the Go salon his grandfather had introduced to him, and since then, most of the trill and excitement of gaining victory against opponents had faded to grey.

Playing with Mitani now didn't even require three fourths of his strength, especially when he was playing a teaching game, but teaching games did have their high points too. He would need a fair amount of concentration if he wanted a particular shape to test Mitani's ability.

As Hikaru placed down his next stone, the door to the Science Lab (where the [rather pathetic] Go club was residing) slid open. A burly teen stood at the doorway, a slight smile drifting across his nervous expression. "Um, excuse me, is this the Go club?"

"Yes!" Akari was the first to reach the door, not that either boy tried. They were just staring plainly. It was the first time any of them had seen anyone willingly walk into the Science Lab and claim to them that they wanted to join the Go club. Tsutsui was the one that formed the club, Hikaru and Akari had tagged a long through the process of finding a room, and Mitani was dragged in by Hikaru. That's how it was.

The boy, teen, whatever, responded to Akari's shout almost immediately. "My name is Natsume. I started playing last summer so I'm quite green."

Akari smiled cheerfully. "It's okay! Hikaru and Mitani-kun will teach you!"

"Hey! Who said anything about that?" The sudden outburst from Mitani seemed to have shocked Natsume, but the rest were not surprised, having been together for a few months. Despite his exterior appearances, Mitani was quite a gentle Go player, as Hikaru came to realize after a few games with him (and Sai's comment).

"Aw come on, Mitani. It won't kill you to tutor him. Besides, he should be a better player than those girls." Hikaru never meant it to be an insult, but Akari was always misinterpreting his sentences, taking offense in what he said.

"Hikaru! We're quite good now, you know?" The other girl in the Go club whose name Hikaru forgot grabbed Akari's hand to stop her from pounding him. It had turned into quite a habit, and the Go club was extremely accustomed to that.

Hikaru snorted. "Yeah right. You can't even beat me with a twenty-five stone handicap."

"It's not my fault you're good," Akari scowled, relaxing for a while before the girl released her.

The door to the Science Lab slid open a second time, this time revealing Tsutsui. His eyes found Natsume and brightened up. "Oh, a new member?"

"Yeah, Tsutsui-san! Now both the boys and girls can enter the tournaments!" Akari was always optimistic about these kinds of things.

"The girls too? Who's the third member?"

"Remember the girl who's in the volleyball club? She agreed to participate in the tournaments." As Akari said these words, the image of the slightly chubby girl filled up the minds of everyone in the room excluding Natsume, who was absolutely clueless to the happenings in the Go club other than the fact that they played Go.

It brought back slightly unpleasant memories to Akari of Hikaru holding the other girl's hand, but nonetheless, she was satisfied. Group games would be more fun than the individual ones. They help build bonds between the teammates as they rely on each other to advance to the next round, though the name of the chubby girl still brought a bitter sensation to her mouth.

"Oh yeah!" Hikaru exclaimed as he recalled the girl. "Her Go was quite spectacular back then. I hope she's improved. I'm looking forward to a game."

Akari couldn't help but allow the little green monster within her some space to grow and roar. She tried to distract herself away from the topic, "Anyway, Tsutsui-san, how do we sign up for the tournaments?"

"It's quite simple, actually. We can print out the signup sheets from the internet and hand it over to Kaio's administrative staff personally once we've filled it out or just fill in the soft copy and send it to Kaio's e-mail account," Tsutsui explained patiently.

Hikaru felt himself getting riled up. He was right to delay the insei classes, otherwise, he wouldn't be able to participate in these amateur tournaments with the Go club he had worked so hard to establish with Tsutsui and Akari. "Okay! Now, Tsutsui-san, will you show us how to do it?"

* * *

"You guys are too much! I can't keep up! There's too many of you and only one of me!" It was frustrating when the whole salon was scrambling to have a game with you. The pressure weighing on finishing a game within half an hour was intense. He'd probably crack under it all if the demand had risen more drastically than it already did.

The owner chuckled from the reception desk. It was amazing, the growth of this kid. In a month, he had gone from being defeated by Kawai to having an overwhelming advantage over the taxi-driver. He had never seen a person improve right before his eyes. The old men that frequented his salon had reached their Go maturity, and usually didn't grow much more.

This child here, however, had turned the peaceful salon upside-down. Kawai was their best regular, but within a month, Hikaru had overthrown him from his throne and replaced it with himself. Since Hikaru started patronizing his salon regularly, the number of customers had gone up and stayed up. Just for that, the owner allowed the boy to play for free, and even requested that while Hikaru was there whether the other customers would cut down on the smoking which wasn't good for a child's development.

The owner then thought of a brilliant idea to conserve time. He slowly walked up to the crowd, which parted for him much like the red sea did for Moses. "Shindou-kun, might I suggest playing multiple-board games?"

The boy wrinkled his nose. "Multiple-board games? I've never tried that before. Is it hard?"

"You would need twice the concentration if there are two boards, but judging by the tables we have, maybe you could try three. Two isn't very convenient for the way our tables are arranged."

"Okay!" Hikaru was excited to try new things. It wasn't often that he got a proposal like that. Quickly, two more boards were added to his sides, and holding black, each of his opponents started.

Soga-san was on his left, Kawai-san right before him, and Niimi-san on his right. Hikaru had a feeling that Kawai had bribed his way into being allowed to play him. Soga wasn't too great, but Niimi was worse. Even if Hikaru used half his strength, he doubted Niimi would even come close to beating him. With Niimi aside, Hikaru distributed his concentration as required.

Kawai would need the most attention since he was the one that gave Hikaru the most trouble, and that included ruffling his hair whenever he felt like de-stressing during a game. Soga was a little behind Kawai, and Hikaru felt like he didn't have to worry about Niimi at all.

A few hands into midgame, Hikaru was able to grasp just how the game would turn out. Soga had a slightly unstable shape that would be quite easy to exploit, and his bottom right territory was unguarded. Kawai fared a little better. He managed to fend off Hikaru's attack for the most part, but was too weak in his defense. Niimi wasn't even worth mentioning about. He hadn't even marked out a territory for himself.

Hikaru was getting the hang of these multiple board games. He could just see the end. A few moku win against Soga, a very slight victory over Kawai, and Niimi would probably resign before endgame.

Truthfully enough, Niimi bowed his head in resignation and started to clear the board, before Hikaru turned his attention back to him after setting down stones for the others. "We could discuss the game, if you could recreate it to hand number thirty-six, I think." Hikaru smiled and then returned to the other games. Wordlessly, Niimi reconstructed the game until the hand Hikaru suggested.

The elderly man stared at the board on which lay the game he had just played. What was so important about that step that the boy wanted to discuss about? Was it that he played a terrible move? Niimi didn't really see how, if it had been a terrible move, Shindou-kun needed to discuss it with him. Right from the beginning, his moves had always been sloppy.

Maybe he would need Shindou-kun's explanation for this one. He watched as the boy whipped his head back and forth from both ongoing games. Niimi knew that his game sense wasn't good at all, but he just loved the game. He couldn't bring himself to stop playing it no matter how painful criticisms were. This boy never jeered at his bad play, but instead played teaching games with him. Niimi would have told him that the games were useless as he couldn't absorb more, but the boy insisted that he taught him.

Hikaru turned to him and pointed at the spot where Niimi next placed his stone. "You shouldn't have gone there. This was a great chance I opened up to you. You should have gone here instead," and Hikaru pointed at another location, then picked up the stones at the side of the board and quickly created an alternative ending. "The game would turn out like this, and majority of the disconnected stones would join a major network that might just threaten me."

He immediately turned away after explaining as Soga placed another stone. Niimi could only stare in wonder. He could never have come up with anything near as brilliant as the one Shindou-kun did. It was no wonder the boy was aiming for the insei, but at that moment, Niima felt that even the rank of insei would do no justice to the boy's strength, but maybe that was just because he played really badly and paled a lot to him.

Soga's game ended with a four and a half moku win for Hikaru, and he turned his concentration wholly on Kawai, but still spared a little for Soga as he recreated the game to a point and waited patiently. If no new patron started going to Dougenzaka, Kawai will forever remain as Hikaru's greatest challenge.

If someone had bothered looking into Hikaru's eye instead of that mesmerizing game he was playing, they'd find a fire blazing in them that could only be found when a passion and desire as strong as the boy's was there. The flame would slowly burn away as the excitement died down, but anyone would remember those eyes that were set ablazing, if only they bothered.

Hikaru quickly diverted his attention to Soga's board and explained why a particular move made was not the best option quite in the same manner as he did to Niimi. Kawai placed his stone and tapped his foot while waiting for Hikaru, who returned to him when he was done showing Soga an outcome no one had thought of.

The last stone was placed and the territory counted. As Hikaru had expected, he had won by a slight amount, and that amount turned out to be one and a half moku. He straightened his back and fell back on his seat. These were by far the most challenging games he had ever played, and yet the most satisfying. The light in his eyes dimmed to a meek glow and he pulled the lid on them.

The owner's breathy voice broke the silence. "Those were wonderful games, Shindou-kun. You've done so well in just a month." His short and detached speech indicated that he too was so in awe of the games that he, like the rest, almost forgot to breath.

Slowly, Hikaru pried his eyes to meet dozens of others staring at him with admiration and in total awe, so much so that he started to grow uncomfortable, then remembered Kawai's game and returned to him in an attempt to distract himself. "Kawai-san, would you like to discuss the game?"

The taxi-driver nodded enthusiastically and swiped the stones off the board, then, like usual, dug his way into Hikaru's hair and messed it all up. "Good job, brat. You did so well on your first try!"

Forgetting all his discomfort, Hikaru half-laughed, "Kawai-san!" He tried to grab Kawai's hand from his head and failed like always. "Let's replay till hand sixty-two."

Hearing that they were going to discuss the game, Kawai pulled his hand from Hikaru's mop of hair and placed the stones down one by one while Hikaru tried to tame his hair using what time he had without Kawai giving him full attention.

The halt in the continuous flow of stones hitting the board alerted Hikaru that Kawai had finished setting up the board and was waiting for him, to which he obliged. Hikaru pointed to a black stone in the extreme left. "I won't say this wasn't a good move, but if you moved a little more toward the right," Hikaru paused to remove the stone he was pointing to and placed a few more stones on the board, "you could have divided my cluster into at least two."

A chorus of 'ooh's and 'ah's echoed round the salon and Hikaru twitched.

As if noticing Hikaru's discomfort, the owner clapped his hands to draw attention to himself, "I guess that's it for today. Shindou-kun will be continuing his games with the rest, but please, one by one." The customers dispersed, but some stayed by the tables around Hikaru to ask for a game or two, which he happily agreed to.

"You know, I really don't mind playing more multiple-board games," he added cheekily as an afterthought, and that earned him another noogie from Kawai who came especially across the room for that.

* * *

"Shindou!" Tsutsui was in the Science Lab filling in the application form for their next tournament. He didn't come very often, but felt the need to assist them in the administrative sense. Neither Mitani nor Hikaru looked like the type who would sit around and fill in forms with patience.

"Ah, Tsutsui-san!" Hikaru rushed toward the third year and dropped himself onto the stool beside him. He inclined his head toward whatever Tsutsui seemed to be looking at quite intently, but was disappointed when he found out that it was only a piece of paper.

"I was just about to fill in the application form for the next tournament. It'll be a few weeks from now. Mitani's going to be first board, right? Are you going to be the second captain? Natsume will fill in as the third, correct?"

"I suppose that's how it'll go, but I'm thinking of placing Natsume in second board so he can grow," Hikaru contemplated. The geezers from Dougenzaka told him once that playing against strong opponents would help people's Go to improve. Well, he already had Sai, so being second board might be a little stingy.

"And you don't need to grow?" Tsutsui enquired with a raised eyebrow. He was still trying to digest the fact that Hikaru was actually giving in to somebody. He had been quite a stubborn child from the beginning.

Hikaru simply smiled and waved it off. "I've got methods better suited for myself."

"You do know that it wouldn't be fair for the second boards of other teams if you match them up with someone whose standard was a tad bit too low."

"It shouldn't be a problem. Natsume is pretty good for someone who started last summer," Hikaru shrugged. Playing third board meant that he could fool around a little more, maybe toy with the game and see how many points he could fall back behind on in the beginning and then catch up enough to win in the endgame. That would require Tsutsui's near perfect endgame skills, but still, he had to test himself. Sai wasn't a good ruler.

"So first captain's Mitani, second captain's Natsume, and the third captain is you, right?" Tsutsui clarified.

"Yup." Hikaru could hear Sai's squeals from behind him, showing just how enthusiastic he was that Hikaru was going to challenge himself at the next tournament. Maybe he should ask him to set up another trap much like the one he did against Akira. A poor start with a strong finish should shock his opponent well enough. Only a seasoned player like Akira would merely stumble and not fall.

Tsutsui inked down the final details and folded the piece of paper up. "I'm meeting a friend at his house later to discuss homework. Would you pass this to the administration in Kaio for me?"

Accepting the slip of paper, Hikaru blinked. Going to Kaio? He had only done that once. He hoped he hadn't forgotten the way there. That would be terrible. "Okay, Tsutsui-san. I've got nothing to do anyway. Akari should be coming soon, maybe you could tell her that club is cancelled because she'd be the only one here."

"Yeah, okay. I'll stay till Fujisaki-san arrives. Thank you for delivering it," Tsutsui said as Hikaru pulled on his backpack.

"Nah, I should be the one doing it. After all, I'm the one participating in the tournament." Smiling as he left, Hikaru pulled the door shut.

* * *

"Excuse me, can I submit the application form for the Go Tournament here?" He had jogged all the way from the subway to Kaio and was a tad bit out of breath. He tried to make himself as presentable as possible while sporting a slouching back and heated face.

The lady at the counter of the general office corrected him. "The application forms are to be submitted to the head of the Go club, Yun-sensei. You can find him if you take that flight of stairs up to the third floor and enter the first room to your left."

Hikaru muttered his gratitude and sprinted up the stairs. He hadn't been exposed to much physical activities for a while now, and yet he felt fit. The flight of stairs felt like nothing, well, compared to his little trip from the subway.

The room to his left had the door closed, so Hikaru knocked before pushing the handle down and entering. "Yun-sensei?" he whispered silently, not wanting to disturb anything if something was going on.

At the far end of the room was a tall man standing casually and conversing with what appeared to be a student, if Hikaru remembered the Kaio's uniform correctly. The boy, or what Hikaru thought was a boy as he couldn't really tell from just the back, had chin-length greenish black hair that swished whenever a small movement was made.

Hikaru's mouth parted to form a word, "Touya?"

The dark hair swirled in a circular motion as the person with the hairstyle turned around, and upon recognizing him cried out, "Shindou!"

The man who hadn't noticed Hikaru before looked up to meet his eyes when Akira gave a sudden outburst. He observed that the boy didn't look like much of a studious person who belonged more to the grassy fields outside instead of a Go club room.

"An acquaintance of yours, Touya-kun?" The light enquiry caused Akira a little jolt.

"Ah, yes, Yun-sensei."

Hikaru's gaze flew up to meet the man's when he heard the name. "Yun-sensei, am I right? I have something to pass to you." He fumbled with his backpack a while before fishing out a slightly crumpled sheet of paper. As he tried to smoothen it out, he advanced toward the teacher.

"Here. It's the application form for my school's Go club." Based on his assessment of the boy's appearance, Yun thought that it was highly likely that he was a member of one of the sports teams that got bribed into being an errand boy for the Go club, but he shouldn't be so quick to jump into conclusions.

Yun eyed the paper with disdain, but nevertheless, he replied with a standard, "Thank you."

The boy smiled and turned to Akira. "I didn't expect to see you here! I thought you'd be far away from the Go club by now since you've passed the pro exam."

"I'm not here to participate in the events, really. I'm just informing Yun-sensei of my official resignation from the Go club. We were just talking about who might be a challenge for me when I advance to the pros," Akira wrung out a wry smile as he offered the explanation.

"Oh."

"Shindou," Akira began coyly, "can I…ask for a game?"

"Game? Who with?" Hikaru couldn't help but wonder if the great Touya Akira requested games from random people every day.

Akira knit his brows and portrayed an expression of exasperate disbelief. "You, of course."

"Me?" From the corner of his eye, Hikaru could see that Yun-sensei was just as surprised as he was, though probably for a different reason. Hikaru knew he didn't look like a Go player. His grades weren't even that great anyway.

Nodding to Hikaru, Akira requested, "Yun-sensei, would you mind if I used one of the boards?"

"No, not at all."

Akira took a seat at the nearest Go board and Hikaru did the same opposite him. Yun watched on with slight anticipation. He couldn't wait to see how this bleach banged boy would fare in Go. He was fairly sure that the boy got above average grades for physical education, but academic-wise, he wasn't too sure.

Akira ended up being black. "Please."

"Please."

Akira laid his first stone at the standard 4-4, to which Hikaru answered with a 4-4 facing him. As the game progressed, evidence of the stronger of the two was evident, but Yun couldn't help but be awed by the play of the jock-looking boy. The concentration he displayed rivaled Akira's own, and electric seemed to spark from each of them to the other like an unseen connection.

The boy from another school would press Akira hard, and the Go prodigy always responded by climbing higher, and the other boy followed him and throughout the game, it seemed like while Akira was pulling Hikaru up, Hikaru was pressurizing Akira to improve. The chemistry between them was a perfect match. No two other that Yun knew could rival this pair of players.

They seemed to know each other's Go, to be able to exploit weak locations Yun himself had missed. They poked at each other to test where they were weakest and strongest to plan and lay out their battle plan. Akira's game was more haphazard and aggressive than usual, and it felt like he was putting everything he had into it. The other boy was playing interesting hands too. His style was much of the traditional Shuusaku, and Yun thought, if the boy changed his tactics to more modern ones, would he be able to gain an advantage over Akira?

The two gnawed at each other, and when put together, the pressure settling on Yun was giving him a hard time breathing. His lungs wouldn't expand properly like he wanted them too, and he felt like he was about to suffocate. He wanted to be rid of the heavy atmosphere, but feared that if he left for even a second, the game might go on a different track and he would never notice.

Then the blond fringe kid made a mistake. A grave mistake that should have cost him his entire cluster at the bottom though gave him the opportunity to attack black's right, but Akira knew better. If the game during the tournament the previous year was any indication, it was that no matter how bad a hand was, Shindou Hikaru would always find a way to turn it around. It was usually the base of his attack and invasion, his trap.

Between the game at the tournament and then, he had played with his father relentlessly to harness enough skill to read ahead better than most people at least twice or thrice his age, but he couldn't underestimate the boy before him. This was the boy whose presence alone over the Go board would send Akira cowering in fear for he never knew what was about to happen next. The boy always had surprises stored in his arsenal and used them at the least likely time.

Wherever Akira attacked, Hikaru dodged for the most part. Wherever Akira invaded, Hikaru fended off quite impressively. Wherever Akira left a weak spot, Hikaru attacked mercilessly. It was like a vicious cycle that would only end with the game's conclusion. Akira had analyzed the game enough to know that Hikaru was still a way off from catching up to him, but he was fast approaching. The footsteps from behind him weren't at walking pace anymore. They were brisk walking. No, they were sprinting. The progress he had made was astounding.

But for now, Hikaru needed to know his place, and Akira would be the one to do that. Across the board, Akira went for the slaughter, which Hikaru had only managed to mute it to a light curse, but that was enough to spell out his defeat. Hikaru fought back bravely as the game neared the end of midgame until he had a slight lead, but then Hikaru fell into a stony silence for a few minutes, his face contorting to fit his concentration, and then he resigned, and the pressure was lifted off the room.

"You're ruthless, Touya. I can't even relax for a second," Hikaru complained. He got cut off everywhere.

"You're not too shabby yourself, Shindou, but I didn't really understand your motive behind this hand," Akira's finger hovered above a white stone. That move had been strangely out of place, though by no means terrible.

Hikaru gave a dejected look. "I was expecting you to place your next stone at 8-12, but you ended up at 9-15 instead. It was a trap, you see, but you totally ignored it. Wasn't 8-12 a good enough catch?" Hikaru cleared the board for a moment and reconstructed the game until the odd hand, then proceeded to show him how his trap would have went if Akira had proceeded to 8-12 instead of 9-15.

As the board was reconstructed, Akira realized with horror how he had completely missed out on the great an advantage 8-12 would bring to him, but above that, he was consternated when he finally saw through the trap Hikaru had laid. It was the most intricate thing he had seen from anyone below the age of thirty, forty even. The black and white stones were jumbled in a haphazard manner and formed no shape in particular until Hikaru slapped down the sixty-third stone in the trap. The rest of the snare unfolded in Akira's mind before Hikaru could lay the remaining stones, but he could just see his genius.

He was sure his traditional father wouldn't have spotted that unless he was at his best. The Meijin tended to seek out less unconventional baits. Each person has his own sets of weaknesses. The trap this time was even better thought out than the one he had used against him slightly over half a year ago at the tournament. It was by far the least obvious lure he had ever come across, and it had included a tempting bait that Akira was sure his father would have noticed and played, but about a few hands in would uncover the trap and set out for a counter.

Akira himself was totally clueless. Even if he did not see the trap, he should at least be able to figure out that there was a more favourable spot than 9-15. What his disbelief heavily depended on was the fact that Hikaru had seen it – and even managed to utilize it to form a trap – but he hadn't. Maybe if he was a little better than he was now, he would have fallen into Hikaru's trap without a problem as the point 8-12 would have been so glaringly obvious his father would reprimand him for over-looking it. The trap laid out further, however, was something an average Go pro player would never figure out. It would take a seasoned and highly skilled professional to expose the threat posed to their stones.

Hikaru was already playing as if he was against much higher-dan players, and Akira was only there at the foot, a mere beginner. 8-12 was strategically planned out so that the opponent would notice, but that would only work if the opponent was at least a 5-dan. The trap ahead was laid out so that no one but the elite of the elite would notice. Hikaru had already advanced so far he didn't deserve to resign, but Akira felt hopeful because Hikaru had deemed him worthy of figuring 8-12 out and played it against him, whether he knew that he was only slightly less superior to the chin-length haired boy or not.

"Touya, just wait a little longer, okay? One day, I'll play with you on equal ground." The grin Hikaru flashed shone to high heavens. It was startlingly alluring, and even the teacher in the room was drawn to it.

Yun had come to realize the potential that this child had. The brilliant plan of almost eighty hands required extreme abilities in reading ahead, which Akira himself (and most other lower-dans) had yet to master. This child could become pro any time he wanted, but the rest of his game prevented that. It wasn't in the least bit sloppy; it was just thin like gauze. His stones were spread across the board in light sprinkles of clusters that barely had any strength in them. It was rare to even spot a single eye in his formation. Tallying up the 'scores' of skills and averaging them, the child was still a little below Akira, but that should change fairly soon.

Hikaru got out of his seat and flexed his arms and back. He wasn't used to such intense games, and the chairs in the room were extremely uncomfortable and gave him backache the moment he sat on one of them. He grabbed his bag and turned to Akira, "Well then, Touya, I'll see you at Touya-Meijin's salon soon. I'll catch up to you." He waved a silent goodbye and left the room.

"Touya-kun, who was that child?" Yun whispered to the Go prodigy. The soft wisp of his voice could just be heard over the still silence of the room.

"That was Shindou Hikaru. He started playing slightly over a year ago." Talking about Hikaru was hard for Akira. He almost never mentioned him at home, for fear his father would expect him to bring home a rival, and outside…well, let's just say Hikaru was pretty nameless aside from once being in the soccer club.

"A year ago…that's quite hard to believe. His improvement must have been astounding." Yun marveled at the young player. One year…Yun himself had required almost six years to reach that standard, and he was currently in his eleventh year of playing Go. It would be only a year more for Hikaru to be able to play Yun equally, or it may just take a shorter time. During the past few years, Yun's Go progress had started to waver and fall. While Yun's head told him that he had seen all there was to this Shindou, his heart sang a different tune. There was something else about that child, something that made him resign so early, and when the territories were in his favour.

Yun then glanced down at the rumpled application form in his hand, startling when he saw that Shindou Hikaru was in the third board position.

* * *

_Hikaru! You resigned so early into the game! You could still have fought on like you always do! Fight till the end unless it was truly a hopeless case!_ Sai had been staring at the game and barely noticed that Hikaru had left, but he caught up with Hikaru by gliding through the walls. It wasn't like Hikaru to resign so early. The game was close and at that point of time, and Hikaru was in the lead.

Once out of range of anybody in the deserted school, Hikaru rasped out, "It was a hopeless case. I could see it, Sai. I could see the end. At my best I'd still lose, and by half a moku. I can't stand that!"

Sai hadn't been expecting that. He had suspected that it was because Hikaru felt his ego had been flattened too much after Akira totally ignored his trap. _Hikaru…how far ahead can you read now?_ Sai was feeling giddy and light-headed with excitement. That one month had proven to be the one that recorded the most growth in Hikaru, from being able to plan out traps to reading ahead. Hikaru had grown into a master of all trades in Go.

"I can see the end of the game by late midgame. I hadn't much practice in Dougenzaka with endgames since the old men keep resigning before that, and when I play against you, **I** am the one who resigns. I rarely ever get to endgame to practice enough." Shaking his head, Hikaru kicked at a small pebble.

_Hikaru, it's fantastic that you can read ahead that much! It takes an average person his whole lifetime to get there, and some never even achieve it!_ Sai ran (or floated) up and down ecstatically. When he had first possessed Hikaru, he was extremely disappointed, but now, he would give almost all he had to stay. Who knew Hikaru was such an amazing person when it came to the Go front.

**

* * *

**

That was so long! Over 5,000 words…yesterday I tried playing Go for the first time. It was over the net and with strangers I didn't know. Anyway, I was just a guest player. If the person I played was good, then I wasn't too shabby. If the person I played wasn't too good himself/herself, then I would have been a really terrible player. I wasn't exactly cut off at every point, but I kept over looking all the Atari and found a number of my stones prisoners…ugh…my father did something to the router so the internet got cut off in the middle of the game, which meant that I never knew the conclusion. Now wasn't that stupid? Anyway, I've only played one game and watched a few. There were some fairly good ones online, although there were times when things got dangerous. I remembered that there was this game where white ignored the possibility of an eye at the bottom right and fought quite a losing battle at the top. I think I do better as a spectator than a player…as a player, I keep screwing everything up…I've got a calmer mind while just watching. I stink big time at problems like life and death, tesuji, and the likes.

**Lol, I haven't played Go before, but since I've read (and re-read) Hikaru no Go a few times already, I'd say I have a fair grasp over the basics. I'm not too good at reading ahead or noticing things for the matter. I'd need to start with a 9x9 board instead of the 19x19 board the internet provided. I think I'd do quite okay on the 9x9 board as my concentration only needed to be spread across a smaller group of…um…stuff? I would like to congratulate myself for putting up a fair fight against my first opponent, though most of the time, I only have a vague idea of what I wanted to do (like to cut off, block, etc.) and I just placed my stone in random places I thought would be useful. Such a sad thing my memory for Go isn't like those people in Hikaru no Go. They remember every single game they played, but me, I only remembered up till hand 4 and lost track of everything…**

**I tried some exercises and it appears I'm at most a match for one of the lowest kyu, say about 25-20 kyu. That's pretty lousy, though I tried some exercises (supposedly) for 1 kyu to 4 dan and got a few right…I wonder what that's all about… I hate reading ahead, so overall standard is…like…extremely low. I don't mind trying them when I'm absolutely awake, but if I'm even 1 percent sleepy, I can't concentrate at all and they're a bore…**

**Oh, and the part where I said Hikaru didn't remember the girl's name. That was just an excuse. I didn't know her name either…XP Does anyone know her name? Please tell me!**


	5. Hidden

**For some reason, Hikaru became extremely strong from the last chapter…HOW DID I GET MYSELF INTO THIS PREDICAMENT? I have to do with such a strong Hikaru throughout? I mean, I like Hikaru and all and want him to totally squish Akira (no offense to Akira's fan [girls]) in Go, so I subconsciously placed myself in this lousy shape where I have to mold Hikaru's – NO! I can't say anything. Don't you DARE try to pry for anything!**

**Anyway, I continued testing myself with some Go problems on the net. Turns out I could pass off as a 20-kyu quite well, but the fact still remains that I don't have any experience playing real games, so that might not be such a good judge. I couldn't do half the problems directed to 20-kyu to 18-kyu, so I supposed I'm at 19-kyu…but maybe it was just due to the fact that I did quite a bit of them while I was on the verge of falling asleep… 19-kyu is a casual player, yes? I've FINALLY gotten past the 'Beginner's' level… and in 2 days! But it doesn't look like I'm crossing into 18-kyu to 15-kyu anytime soon…maybe a week or so if I persist in doing the problems. They can get boring.**

**Anyway, I'm not sure if a trap like the one mentioned in the previous chapter is possible (30 hands, wouldn't that be very hard?), after all, I'm limited to problems and no game experience (well, if you count just 1 game right after grasping the basics useful enough to be considered experience), so I have absolutely no idea what goes on. The trap sounded extremely far-fetched, but hey, Hikaru's skills are far-fetched themselves! At least in this story.**

**Eh! Wait! Reading 10 hands forward is pretty easy (as I've tried it out myself and I'm only 20-kyu...), so 30 hands shouldn't have been too hard for Touya-sensei and Akira! NOO! This sucks...let me change it quickly...there'll be a minor change in chapter 4 because I'm gonna change the numbe of hands the trap took...**

**

* * *

**

Two Sides to a Face…or More

**Chapter 5: Hidden**

"He played here, father," Akira tapped a white stone to the Go board. The first thing he did when he returned home was request for two hours with his father, and had proceeded to recount the day's event. When they reached the topic of the game between Akira and Hikaru, the teen got out a Go board and started laying stones on it.

Touya Kouyo analyzed the game for a brief moment, before asking Akira, "And where did you answer?"

"Right here, at 9-15."

"8-12 would have been better." So his father had noticed it, but that wasn't the point. Akira knew that there were a great number of things he didn't know that his father did.

"That is true, until a while later," Akira answered curtly. He laid out a white stone and waited for the Meijin's reply, which fell right onto where Hikaru would have intended it to be. Not even fifteen hands into the snare, Touya Kouyo had seen through the trap and played a hand out of where the expected one would have been.

It would be an understatement if Akira described the Meijin as surprised. He was more like a shell-shocked robot. His body grew rigid as the trap reared its ugly head, and was stiff when he placed his next stone. "Shindou-kun did this?"

"Yes, father."

Touya Kouyo scanned the game over once more, noting that the trap seemed to be targeted at people who are extremely experienced and highly skilled in Go, and this made Kouyo wonder what kind of a person Shindou Hikaru played during his free time. It was little wonder that Akira hadn't managed to see 8-12, but the great wonder lay in the fact that Shindou Hikaru did. It certainly was intriguing that the child had made use of the higher-dan's ability to spot more profitable hands against them, but Kouyo was an uncharacteristically curious man and wanted to know the extent of how far someone like Ogata would be tricked, and in order to find that out, he'd have to know the complete trap. "Akira, could you remove my last hand and play out the perfect scenario where everything goes according to Shindou-kun's plan please."

Akira picked out the stone delicately and relocated it, before picking up a white stone and settling it down. The trap flowed from his hands, and he had a feeling he'd remember it for life, a memory etched so deeply within him he'd never forget.

The seventy-nineth stone was placed and the trap was complete.

Even without looking up at his father, Akira could tell that the dignified man dressed forever in a montsuki had his breath hitched. Hikaru's trap was something to talk about even among the higher-dan. No, especially against the higher-dan, since this kind of trap would only work on them as they were one of the only people who even managed to catch a glimpse of the opening at 8-12. The less skilled players (like Akira himself, though he hated to admit it) would have 'skillfully' avoided the trap. What was Hikaru thinking, playing such an advanced step against him?

It wasn't until ten minutes later that his father spoke. "Can you play your game out from your hand at 9-15 onward?"

"Yes, father."

A lot of clacking and snapping issued from the room both men of the family were in. In the kitchen, Touya Akiko sighed. All that the two males ever cared and thought about was Go. She wished they'd spend some time with her.

"He resigned here while he held the lead. I couldn't understand that."

Kouyo pondered on it for a moment. Lower-dan and amateurs tended to resign when they felt intimidated or lacking in skill. Higher-dan was a different thing altogether. They only resigned when the outcome was sure, when they had reviewed the game over many times in their head and then ran through all the possibilities of endgame. The semi-blond didn't seem like the former. "Why do you think he did that? You must ask yourself that question. Did his play show fear, cowardice? Was he displaying a lack of confidence?"

Akira shook his head as he recalled the moment. "None of them, father. He was extremely calm and collected, even until the resignation."

"Shindou-kun is quite a special case. I would like you to think of him as someone who acts like a higher-dan. Why do you think he resigned even though he was in the lead?" Kouya liked giving prompts to his son. The outright answer would do him no good, and neither would hours of redundant pondering.

"He…read through till the end…" As Akira came to realize it, the veil of disbelief began to thicken and turn into a woolly hoodie over his head. "But how could he? He had the advantage! It would have been stupid to simply resign! Besides, if he was already that good, how bad could he be in endgames?"

Kouyo was a patient man, and he would more so be as such with his son. "Did you notice anything during his play? Perhaps the style, anything?"

The brows on Akira's forehead furrowed. "Shindou plays a really old style, and the trap indicated that he was used to playing extremely skilled individuals, as if he knew what a higher-dan would think. And then there's some bits that looked a lot like scattered parts of a teaching game…"

"Do you think he's managed to bring games into endgame very often, judging from who he usually plays."

"With his level of skill, it would have been someone of father's level to keep him from endgame. I know that because I play with you often, and the teaching games…maybe those he were teaching were so terrible that they resigned before endgame, or that their endgame was so sloppy nothing could be learnt from it…"It was amazing how much one could deduce about the other person's life just from his game alone.

The Meijin nodded. "He probably hadn't much practice in endgame."

"But that doesn't explain how he kept silent for almost fifteen minutes. Reading ahead till the end of the game, father does that under five. No matter how bad Shindou could be, to read till the end of the game, it shouldn't be much more than you had taken, father." That was something that bothered Akira very much. He didn't know what it was, but it felt like a set-back to the boy's progress.

"It was highly probable that he fared quite badly at counting territories, given his lack of practice."

There was something else nagging at Akira's conscience. This game was less like Shuusaku's than any of his other games. He had improved since their last game half a year ago, and with a huge progress too, but his style shouldn't have changed that much. It was still similar to Shuusaku, but the quirks that hadn't been in there were added along with some modern joseki, and while some hands still looked like they were from the past, the game had evolved from 'ancient with a hint of modern' to 'modern with a hint of ancient'. If he had started out as such a huge fan of Shuusaku in this era, it should have been the latter all the way, wouldn't it?

"Akira." His father's voice punctured his thoughts. "You wouldn't mind if I showed this game to the study group, would you? They'll be arriving any minute now."

Akira shook his head. If his father was worried of embarrassing him for playing at 9-15, it wouldn't be an issue. He was glad he didn't fall for the trap. Who knows what'd have happened if he had and allowed Shindou to gain an unimaginable amount of territory. He wouldn't like to think of the endgame. Overall, he'd say he did quite well. It was his best game yet. There was something about Shindou that drew him in. Something that made his will to play and win rage. Was this what a rival was? Someone who could pull out the best in you? Akira wondered if Shindou had felt that way too.

As if on cue, the traditional doors slid open and Ogata stepped in.

* * *

Akira tried to regulate his breathing to not give the game away. Ogata knelt before the Go board where his father replayed his and Hikaru's game and squinted hard at the strange stone. It certainly didn't fit the pattern of the game. All was smooth sailing until that bump of a stone hit the ocean. It was a beautiful stone, granted, but it gave off some weird vibes. Ogata's instinct told him that there was something to it, but his head forced his body to place a stone at 8-12.

The Meijin pounced on the opportunity with Hikaru's trap, and ensnared Ogata's stones, gnawing at them. Unlike the Meijin, Ogata required over twenty hands to notice the trap, but by then, it was too late. Perhaps Hikaru had meant for that. The trap fell neatly around the huge cluster Ogata had tried to connect using 8-12, encasing it so tightly there wasn't even space for an eye.

"This…" Ogata breathed. It wasn't everyday that someone made a trap especially for the higher-dan. Most traps were targeted at the general public, where higher-dan had the advantage because of their ability to both read ahead and locate more profitable hands. This trap, however, was laid so that their strength led to their demise. "Who?"

The whisper over the board could barely be heard. "Shindou Hikaru, the one with bleached fringe." Akira could see Ogata's stiffened frame clearly from where he was, but the reaction from the other students in the study group was filled with confusion and not the dread and disbelief Ogata conveyed.

"Shindou Hikaru? Who's that? Why would someone who plays Go bleach his fringe? Isn't that a jock image?" It didn't make sense at all to the others in the study group.

Ogata eyed the game before stating, "The opponent was Akira-kun, was it not?" He pushed his glasses up his nose and turned to stare at the teen with green tinged hair.

"Yes." The stares Ogata emitted were never warm. They held an icy over(and under)tone that made anyone squirm under his gaze. Akira was no exception, but with years of practice, he could pretty much cover up the discomfort, but found it more beneficial for his sanity if he simply stared at his feet (or knees, now that he was sitting traditionally) every time Ogata's eyes found him.

"How did you do against him?"

"I didn't see 8-12, Ogata-san. I played at 9-15 and unknowingly avoided the trap. He only pointed out to me later and I realized my lack of attention to the general shape, but when he mentioned the trap, I was glad I missed it, although I would have gladly fallen into the trap because that would prove that I had better board reading skills." It felt so contradictory. Half of him was glad for messing up Shindou's plan, but the other half was dissatisfied with the way he won, because Shindou was clearly above him.

"That boy," Ogata murmured, assessing the boy from what he knew, "he was born to challenge skilled players. He probably wouldn't do too well against the lower-dan unless he played teaching games…I wonder if he even knows how great that trap was, if he knew how unlikely it would be that a lower-dan falls into his trap. If he played full out against a lower-dan, he'd never win. They'd never lead his traps to success. The only people who match–up badly against him are the skilled players. If he ever went pro, he'd stay at the bottom forever if he always gave his best. This boy is an impossible player; the Go Association will have no idea where to place someone who loses to lower-dan but wins against higher-dan."

It was the first time Akira's ever heard of a skilled player not succeeding in his own profession. If that really applied to Shindou, he would feel upset that his rival (yes, he considered him a rival now, though it could be a one-sided relationship) could not rise up the ranks since he had to first break past the lower-dan, none of which would notice his brilliance with their weaker plays and abilities in reading the board. He would just be trampled on there, but among the higher-dan was a different thing. He'd be hailed as one of the best players. Shindou Hikaru's existence in itself was an impossible phenomenon.

Silently, the Meijin agreed with his student. The child was indeed a rare specimen. He shone with such intensity that only those whose eyes were trained to get used to the light would notice. Those whose eyes were dull would go temporarily blind and take it as a bleak nothing. No, that wasn't a good comparison. Pitch would have been better. He was on a pitch so high that an average human couldn't hear him, couldn't take note of him. As people who are attuned to pitches slightly higher up the 'hearable range' continue to listen to increasingly higher pitched sounds, they'd hear him one day. No, that wasn't too good either. The boy was hard to place a metaphor on.

* * *

_Hikaru, you're not at Touya's strength yet, so you must play more against other people! You can't just play against me! Also, you must go full out to try to beat them._ Sai knew that whatever he said was a lie, but he didn't want to blow up Hikaru's ego. He certainly was more ready to face better skilled opponents than Touya, but his game wasn't fit for someone like below that standard. To win, he needed to know what people Touya's standard (and below) play like, and crush them with a skill that not only extremely skilled players can see but also the not-so skilled ones. He couldn't win against lesser skilled players because the traps he laid had critical openings needed to be filled in by them though they wouldn't notice the traps. Being able to stand on a ground similar to more skilled players alone doesn't make him good. He's got to learn how to deal with the lesser skilled opponents too, so Sai comes in, trying to get him to do just that. It was inevitable that he learnt his Go was superior, but for now, Sai would have to trick him into working even harder.

Hikaru always played teaching games with the patrons of Dougenzaka, but that wasn't enough. He needed first-hand experience of battling seriously against opponents who are not at the ghost's level. He needed to have winning as a goal when he played against others, not just Touya or Sai himself. During his teaching games, he was more focused on conveying to others the right moves and never cared for his own territory. It had been a long time since Hikaru was bent on winning someone other than Sai or Touya, and it seems that he had forgotten the feeling of fighting someone whose skill ranges from the Go club's level to Touya's. Without these experiences, he wouldn't know how to properly tackle the opponents as the expected hands were entirely different from the hands played. Sai was a player at Touya Meijin's level, and Hikaru had gotten so used to his skill that the hands predicted were similar to what Sai would play, and not what an average or lower-dan player would.

"I played multiple-board games against Kawai-san, Soga-san and Niimi-san and I won them all. I play the other guests at Dougenzaka too. Isn't that enough?" Hikaru lazily provided evidence to ruin Sai's stand.

_I want you to play one on one with them and try to win. Don't play teaching games. You can't play teaching games against everybody. You have to learn how to fight!_ It was due to the fact that Hikaru's concentration wasn't at its best during the multiple-board games that he couldn't come up with plans like he did with Touya. He had played on an extremely superficial level, resorting to amateurish hands because he hadn't the time to come up with plans. The reason he won was that his play then was straight forward and cut them off directly without the need for them to play a particularly difficult hand to initiate the killing which would normally have earned more points (if played against an opponent who could figure out the opening move and didn't manage to connect it to a trap). If Hikaru had played them with his full strength, Sai was sure he would have lost. The ghost was very well aware that he didn't make any sense, but then again, neither did Hikaru's play.

_From tomorrow onward, I want you to play against those men and win without using teaching games!_

"Sai, I always lose when I play teaching games. It's not an option." Flipping to the next page of the manga, Hikaru continued reading without paying Sai much attention.

_Then try to win your teaching games!_

Hikaru looked up at Sai with disbelief. "Sai, you should know better than me that teaching games are not meant to be won. They're meant to be learnt from. To think you're over a thousand years old and still don't know that. Call yourself obsessed with Go…" he trailed off and returned to the manga, before looking up again. "Anyway, if I start winning my teaching games, those old men are going to think something went wrong with my head."

_You. Must. Win. Your. Teaching. Games._ The short, detached words indicated that they were supposed to be taken seriously, but Hikaru didn't look up. He was used to it.

Sai knew that he was the cause of Hikaru's failure. Hikaru had been playing him so often he was fine tuned to great hands and understood how to counter them. It was only recently that he started playing against weaker opponents regularly, but it was a fact still that he lost to his grandfather, simply because Heihachi couldn't notice the traps' openings._ Learn how to make subtle traps concealed behind obvious openings. You wouldn't want your trap revealed before you carried the game through it. It might have just been a fluke on Touya's part that he didn't see 8-12, so you absolutely __**must**__ make them more obvious. Dougenzaka is a good place to get started. If you manage to get them to notice the opening move, you should do fine against the better opponents. If you can't manage that, how do you think you'd fare in the insei?_

Grumbling, Hikaru reluctantly agreed, "Fine."

* * *

"You know, Sai, maybe I should just have played NetGo instead, like a tutor for other players. I don't care if my rank rises or not. Mitani's sister would be glad to have me, and I wouldn't need to breath in all that smoke." Hikaru was trying to get Sai to change his mind about going to the salon. The other patrons were sure to start wondering if he had the sudden change of heart and wanted to slaughter them, though it was more like…suffocate? He wasn't that good at slaughtering yet.

_Nope._ Sai shouted loudly and marched on, swinging his arms back and forth in accordance to his strides. _You need to play your opponents face to face, build up the confidence, then go play online and work on your skill._

"But I have a sore throat, Sai." He did indeed have one, and the raspy voice and hoarse tones proved that just fine. Hikaru didn't know how it came about. He just woke up that morning and his throat started hurting enough to render his gullet almost useless. It was thoroughly pointless to speak to Sai, seeing that they could hear each other's thoughts, so he reverted back to mental communication. _The Go salons are filled with cigarette smoke! I'd die!_

Sai spared him a glance and snorted. _I played every day no matter how ill I was. Compared to me, you're lacking a lot of practice._

_Yeah, but they didn't have cigarettes in your time._ Those sticks of nicotine and other harmful substances bound by paper (well, paper looking thing. Hikaru never bothered to make an effort to learn what it was) that burnt away slowly while the smoke was inhaled made no sense to Hikaru. There was barely a good effect that the cigarettes produced, so as to why the geezers at the salon seemed to have a certain fondness for the over-priced stick, Hikaru didn't have the faintest idea. Maybe it was a quiet way to suicide as their lungs corrode.

_No. They didn't, but they did have incense. Anyway, the train will be coming soon, better hurry before you miss it._ Sai shooed Hikaru who clambered up the stairs in a futile attempt to get away from the ghost. As far as both spirit and host knew, Sai could glide through the air at over a hundred kilometers per hour and still retain his grace. It was something they found out recently when the doors of the train slammed shut before Sai could get on, and he was so shocked he didn't move for a couple of seconds, and chased after the train when it had already pulled out. Hikaru had been so shocked when he saw Sai crashing into people and flying straight at him he almost fell.

Sai didn't exactly know what trains were, how they operated and what they were made of, but he understood enough to know that Hikaru had to ride that moving box if he wanted to cover a great distance without taking a day or two. He also knew that the trains were heartless. There was once when Hikaru was just a second late and the doors closed on him, coercing him to wait for the next one relatively impatiently.

He couldn't comprehend where the train got all its power to move from, and why there wasn't anything inside to power it, how it could lug the long body and many passengers along a long, marked out route. Hikaru tried to explain to him, but complained that he was so out of date that he wouldn't even know how glass came about. And he didn't. That gave Hikaru reason enough to stop bothering about Sai and his insane obsession with anything eighteen-sixties onward.

As Hikaru stumbled though the doors, a 'beep' came from above the minute gateway and the doors slid shut.

A few stations and much useless protests later, Hikaru got off the train and headed for Dougenzaka, thinking mostly of how he was going to snap at Kawai-san for messing his hair without his voice.

He found it relatively surprising when from right outside, he heard a somewhat less mature voice than those of the usual customers. "I could beat all of you here playing blind Go," the voice bragged. Almost immediately, Hikaru wanted to give the person's ear a sharp twist but he refrained himself and entered the salon as properly as he could.

As usual, Kawai was the first one to spot him, shouting and pointing, "Ah! There you are brat!" Then as Kawai's head turned, Hikaru noticed a boy about his age sitting casually on one of the chairs in the salon as if it were his own home. "Play our star player - Shindou-kun. You could learn a thing or two from him." Hikaru felt himself being handled like a possession as Kawai shoved him into the chair opposite the boy. Upon closer inspection, he appeared to be wearing a sleeping mask, something that covered only the eyes, and maybe the nose, if it was placed a tad too high up the face.

Smoothing his voice out, Hikaru asked, "What are you doing with that mask?" It came out deep and creamy, but by no means low. It was a voice with depth and thickness, something that resonated, causing a few raised eyebrows. Hikaru's voice was for the most part a bit higher and sharper than most boys his age, and hearing a growl from Hikaru was something that the patrons didn't get to experience every day. Not wanting to speak, Hikaru mouthed out his reason, earning a silent (and totally unexpected) nod from Kawai.

The boy grinned and offered his reply, "Blind Go. I was proving to them that I don't cheat."

_Blind Go…what's that, Sai?_ It wasn't often that he was speech deprived, so asking Sai a question like that when he had so many other people around him who knew the answer felt strange.

_Playing blind Go means playing without looking at the board, which takes a very high ranking amateur to accomplish._

Playing without looking at the board…that sounded hard, but Hikaru always welcomed a challenge, and he wasn't about to back down now. "Would you play me?"

It was as if the boy hadn't expected it. His body pushed against the back of his chair with a sudden force as he sat up straight. "I'm an insei, you know? It wouldn't be easy to play blind Go against me."

"Listen, brat, you better win this or I'll grind your hair again." The threat Kawai posed was too great for Hikaru, who most definitely did not enjoy having his hair mussed up. "I don't care whether he's insei or not, but you've got to knock him back into place. He's definitely not unbeatable."

"Uh…okay." It was awkward, this situation. Screaming to retort wasn't an option for Hikaru whose voice had betrayed him and went on a vacation leaving behind an empty, rough tunnel. Rejecting the game politely wouldn't do either. Sai would cling to him all throughout his journey home and spill fountains from his eyes demanding the reason to why he wouldn't agree to a game. Either choice didn't seem to appeal much to Hikaru, so he settled for a game, only one game.

"You're just an amateur, right? So I'll let you take black."

Hikaru was most displeased with this. How could that kid be sure he was bad? They hadn't played yet. But the most logical thing would be to avoid the redundant fight and accept the offer graciously, which was what Hikaru did. "Please."

"Please."

Hikaru drew his eyes shut and without hesitation, called out the first co-ordinates, dreading the painful feeling in his throat, "4-4, upper left star." As he spoke, a wavering image of a Go board drifted into his mind. The lines were vague and hard to identify under the waves and ripples of distortion, but he soon realized that all it took was concentration to stabilize the image to get a crystal clear view of the game within his head.

"4-16, upper right star." The voice rang loud and clear, and another stone found its way onto the mental Go board. Everything from then on was just a blur as the long forgotten yet familiar sensation of anticipation overwhelmed him. Every cell in his body tingled just by thinking of the game. It was exciting, refreshing, until the daunting words of Kawai-san brought dread unto the teen. _You better win this or else…_

It became evident that his opponent wasn't at Touya's level yet, but could still put up a good fight, and then doubt crept into Hikaru's heart. He wasn't good with dealing with people like him. Hikaru preferred playing the likes of Sai, classical, traditional, and best of all, dominating. To Hikaru, the boy's plays were hard to predict, but to Sai, Hikaru was the unpredictable one. No one knew when he'd pull a trap.

Hikaru was fast growing flustered, his inability to foresee the hands taking a toll on his performance. He had to be able to predict where the next hands went, or else the game was lost. Was this the weakness Sai was talking about the day before? The not-good-enough aspect of him?

As the game wore on, the strange new style of play started engraving itself onto Hikaru's mind, and he began to make sense of it all. It wasn't long before Hikaru incorporated this into his game. He could now see his opponent's next move, and was thus able to lay traps to secure his own victory, although coming back by thirty moku was going to be anything but easy, and if he didn't play a teaching game, he'd revert back to his style of unnoticed trap openings which would do nothing to contribute to the game.

Letting out a breath, Hikaru barked his move, and then proceeded to construct the trap underground that would only be exposed if the soil of confusion gave way to clarity, or maybe if the ground was blasted to bits by a white grenade. With the trap completed on his part, Hikaru sat back to see how the boy would respond, though he already had a fairly good idea where the next stone would go.

Yup. No sweat. Triumphantly, Hikaru claimed the plot of at least ten white stones with glee. Taking some time to ponder on his next step, Hikaru decided for another trap, this time with a bigger target: the boy's upper right group. It was a nicely shaped group with a beautiful pattern, but it wasn't flawless, and Hikaru completely intended to exploit that. After teasing and mocking the boy over the board, the trap lay dormant and finished, waiting to be triggered. As expected, the boy fell for his trap quite easily. Hikaru chuckled to himself, not wanting to give the trap away.

As Hikaru dusted the cluster off the board, he mused at what expression his opponent would have on. Sai never fell for any of his traps so he wasn't any fun. This boy however, gave him the first taste of the strive for victory since the game with Touya, be it due to his style, strength, or simply Kawai's threat of a promised noogie if he lost (though Hikaru seriously doubted that. Kawai never kept his promises, so he was expecting the noogie anyway).

The game seemed to change courses dramatically within a few hands, and before anyone knew it, the game was Hikaru's, mistake on his part or not in the endgame.

"I…I resign." The unnamed boy was frozen to his seat. What was that last few hands? He had dominated the game until midgame, and then a tirade of attacks just pelted his groups and destroyed them. That sudden invasion came from nowhere, and there was no foretelling it. It just happened.

The stammer barely registered in Hikaru's mind. It wasn't until Kawai came over to scrunch his hair did he lose the intensity in his eyes and relax. "Good job, brat. You saved our reputation."

A sharp beep pierced the air. Hikaru's eyes flickered open, blinking and trying to adjust to the light. The boy before him gave an embarrassed look and pulled off his sleeping mask. He immediately brought his eyes to the watch on his left wrist and yelped in surprise, leaping out of the chair and grabbing his bag. Without so much as a glance backward, he dashed out the door calling out, "The name's Waya Yoshitaka! I'm an insei!"

Hikaru stared at him as he left, right down to that final strand of hair left trailing behind him while he ran out. "Insei? Was it possible to become insei at that level? I was far from being an insei, but I just defeated that guy. Does that mean I can become an insei too?"

The men in the salon almost dropped their cigarettes in surprise. Did he not know how much he had improved during that one almost two months? As always, Kawai was first, "You sure can."

Reverting his gaze back to the chair that once held the boy not too long ago, he wondered out loud, "Maybe he's one of the lower insei," Hikaru paused for a moment before touching on a different subject, "Man, he didn't even look at me, did he."

Murmurs started circulating the room. It wasn't often that someone didn't bother sparing a glance at the person who had just crushed them, and most of the patrons were hitting their heads at how they hadn't noticed it before.

Tentatively, Hikaru spoke, "Can I request that you all don't reveal my appearance to him even if he demands them? It might get a little sticky. I don't like that."

The patrons didn't know how to react. So rare was it that Hikaru demanded something from them they never bothered to image train what'll happen if he did.

Again, Kawai spoke up, "Uh…sure, brat," then zipped his lips.

Awkward silence took over the room again. Hikaru could hear his heart beating in his chest against his ribcage, thumping loudly. Desperate to be rid of the uncomfortable atmosphere, Hikaru made an effort to initiate a conversation…or rather, a game. "Um, does anybody want to play?"

* * *

"Shindou!"

Hikaru had been wandering around aimlessly for a while until a familiar voice called out to him. Upon recognizing his friend, he acknowledged, "Mitani!" As he trotted over to Mitani, he noticed that Natsume was already there, sitting at a table and giving Akari and the girl whose name Hikaru forgot a last minute revision though he himself was nervous.

Hikaru spoke the first question that came to his mind, "Where's that volleyball girl?"

"Kaneko-san? Oh, she said she'll cut it a little close," Akari responded, twisting her neck to catch a glimpse of the boy.

Cutting into her reply rudely, Mitani asked, "Hey, Shindou, what are our positions? I heard that you and Tsutsui filled in the application form together. You should know, right? Who's first board?"

A chuckle of amusement escaped Hikaru's lips. It wasn't a common thing to see Mitani so worked up. "You. Second board's—."

"You, isn't it, Shindou?" Mitani finished before Hikaru could complete his sentence, believing in his guess.

Shifting uncomfortably, Hikaru transferred his weight from one foot to the other. "Uh, no. Actually, it's Natsume."

Mitani had apparently not been expecting that. "Quit joking, Shindou. You can't have lost to Natsume, no matter how good he is. After all, you beat me once."

"Only once," Hikaru reminded him in a mock bitter tone.

With a shrug in response, Mitani continued, "Once is good enough. Come on, say it. Say you're second board."

"But then I'll be lying."

Mitani took some time to process the words, before exploding, "What? We can't have you for third board! Natsume's no match for you!"

From the tables, a sarcastic 'geez, thank you,' could be heard.

"I…uh…need a change of pace?" Hikaru suggested tentatively.

On instinct, Mitani slapped his palm over his face and groaned.

**

* * *

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YAY! One more chapter! This chapter explains why Hikaru does so badly against the insei in the manga! Er, well, at least that is my version. If this was the manga, I was thinking that because Hikaru didn't possess the same brilliance to play against lesser skilled players like he did for skilled ones, he wouldn't match up well against the insei and likes (therefore his ascend to the top wasn't too rapid 'cuz he needed to plow through the less skilled players) so he needed to start from the scratch to learn how to deal with them. Can't have Hikaru all big and mighty with no weakness. XD

**There's like two standards, and in the higher-dan standards, from 5-dan to 9-dan, Hikaru's around 7-dan. In the lower-dan and below standards, he plays terribly, maybe achieving only amateur 6-dan to pro 1-dan or so. Akira is affected because he is hovering somewhere between lower and higher-dan, so he can see some of Hikaru's trap openings but not all, therefore can't fall into Hikaru's trap too much. So currently, Hikaru's peak effectiveness is amateur 6-dan to pro 1-dan and pro 7-dan, but is almost ineffective at pro 4-dan. He's okay with people below 1-dan since he's learnt to deal with them. Can't play too good, can't play too average. So he has two sides (as stated above). The beginner side where he is at amateur 7-dan, but on the much better level, he's at pro 7-dan. Do I make sense?**

**Tournament again. I Had a whole six months (give or take) summarized in 5 or 6 chapters…I should make the pace slower…but I can't. My speech is fast, and apparently, speed is in my stories too…XP This story has extremely unrealistic growth in Hikaru's Go strength, so if you don't fantasize about Hikaru totally ruling the Go world, please don't say I have terrible plot sense. I'm just penning my fantasies down in words and sharing them. Um, Natsume's a bit out of character, but I just thought it'd be fun if I added that line in. Goes to show how ignorant Mitani is of others. XD**

**Sketch: **Haha, no worries. I don't support shounen-ai (boy love). This won't go into romance. If I wanted to write romance stories, I'll make either Akira or Hikaru a girl…I'm a Christian, can't delve too far into such morally un-upright stuff.


	6. Another Step Forward

***Groans* It's gonna be hard to write this chapter. I'm fast running out of ideas on how to get Hikaru to totally win subtly (and yes, I know I'm only at chapter 6…). As the story goes on, I keep thinking Natsume is becoming more jerk-like. I'm not sure how Natsume got so detestable in my story…I don't exactly hate him or anything… And the title. It's supposed to come into play much later…XP I thought up of the later parts of this story before I started the front, since I just HAD to find a reason as to how and why Hikaru became what he is going to be in the later parts.**

**I was hoping the terrible language from chapters before didn't turn people away, and I'm really happy to know that there are still some people reading on even though it's terrible. Was chapter 4 much better than chapter 3? I had a feeling it was so. Between chapter 3 and 4, I read some other (much better) stories and kind of got in the mood to elaborate on many things. Hopefully my work has gotten better too. I'd be kind of depressed if it hasn't… (but what if it really hasn't?) I know a lot of people get put off by my first chapter…I redid it. I myself get put off by stories with terrible language too (probably on par with mine, though….) – when I start reading, my first impression of how the story will develop is from the language, so if the language is superficial and immature, I just can't summon up the interest to continue reading onward…**

**I'm depressed knowing that there has to be tons of people out there like me who can't stand bad story narration…though the story might develop into something great plot wise (I'm not saying my plot's good or anything…). I liked the way Obata-sensei's art improved over the time he drew Hikaru no Go and became something more personal and original. I hope this can apply to my stories too…**

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* * *

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Two Sides to a Face…or More

**Chapter 6: Another Step Forward**

Mitani Yuki was never one to appreciate it when things were misplaced. Like how Natsume was dropped before the second board when he was so apparently much better fitted for third board, if you catch the drift.

Shindou Hikaru, on the other hand, had absolutely no qualms about which position he was allocated, and barely spared a thought for what people thought of his skills, except for when he was praised so much he was on the verge of suffocating.

Natsume was a different person altogether. He was, for the most part, calm and collected, albeit a little shy. He had good Go sense for someone who had just started playing not too long back, but he was still light-years behind Shindou.

Grunting, Mitani flicked a finger at the table. Shindou had all the rights to be the one sitting right next to him on the throne of second board, and may even make it up till first if he bothered to improve. So carefree was the boy that he probably wouldn't notice if a thunderbolt struck him.

It had been a tough fight with himself to keep from dragging Shindou over to the administration and demand a change in captains. He was, of course, fairly delighted that he had been awarded title of first captain, but as first, he should have the right to choose his subordinates, right? Shindou apparently had his mind set on a different way of thinking. He thought it would have been fun to chuck Natsume in second board and watch him get slaughtered.

The call to signal the initiation of choosing for colour roused Mitani from his reverie with a slight jolt, before he set about to place two black stones on the board, only revealing it once white was done with the counting. With lady luck on his side, he almost always got black.

"Natsume's white, so Shindou's black," he called down the role, before placing the stones back into the container as Natsume exchanged his set. A simple bow and muttering was all that was needed for the game to begin. Mitani silently cursed the person (or persons) who had thought up of the system. Which idiot needed to greet his opponents before a game anyway? If he was going to set out on a slaughter, the greeting was absolutely redundant.

But Mitani was gracious, so he let that pass. The opponent before him tapped his clock, and Mitani made a move to claim the upper right corner.

A swift glance to his right told him all that was needed. Natsume was going to self-destruct. Mitani was by no means a sadist, but he couldn't help but detest the fact that Natsume hadn't rejected the idea of being second board. He just accepted it as it was, like it happened all the time, and it made Mitani so mad. When they got back, he'd give Natsume a good pounding to put him back in place.

He swept the thoughts from his mind. The game before him was more pressing. The first captain of their opponent wasn't anything special. Probably couldn't beat Natsume even if he tried (of course, this was probably just sarcasm on Mitani's part since Natsume is doing pretty badly against his opponent). Mitani didn't want to waste time on people like that, and decided that a quick and often painful death should do well and hasten the end of the game.

It was grueling that the opponent didn't notice that he had been dead since a long time ago and should probably have resigned, like, dozens of hands before. The most ridiculous thing was that he didn't even know he getting slaughtered by an extremely superior player and had that look of 'I'm-still-playing-around' all over his face; his eyebrows were sagging as if almost sleeping, and while his eyes were wide open, no enthusiasm was found in them.

That did it. Mitani decided to finish him off once and for all.

* * *

Hikaru dipped his hand into the container and fished out a black stone. Sai watched as Hikaru toiled over the next move while playing with the stone he had just singled out. As much as Sai would have loved to say that Hikaru was an exceptional player, it would probably be of no use if he couldn't even win this match. He performed better under pressure, intense games where each move he played was striving hard to survive, and each move that his opponent played suffocated him.

That game against the kid, insei, whatever, Waya, was it all for nothing? Couldn't Hikaru actually apply what he had learnt from the game? Sai scrutinized the boy's face for a moment, gaining the feeling that he was absorbing something. Wordlessly, the ghost poked into the boy's mind.

It was a whirl of possible routes, possible hands, possible suicides; simply a world filled with possibility. It was evident that he had pretty much ingrained the style into his system and was beginning to analyze it, but would that be enough to allow him a comeback victory from a loss of thirty moku? As far as Sai knew, the opponent had already attained almost a quarter of the board even though they had just started, and was proceeding to capture more.

The wheels and gears in Hikaru's head started spinning faster, and Sai wondered if he would need a repairman to remove damage caused by friction. Slowly, bit by bit, Hikaru fell behind. From where Sai was, he could see the opponent grinning to himself. Sai huffed, _Humph, let's see you do that later_.

Right in the middle of midgame, Hikaru's play changed. His mind was set at a sudden full steam ahead throttle and he charged forth into foreign territories. Twice he destroyed his opponent's land, thrice he constructed his own, and four times he blocked his opponent's threats.

Sai could see the fear in the child's eyes, and he recognized it well. Total domination; it had been over a thousand years since Sai had felt that, but it wasn't new to him. He was first taught Go by an uncle of his, who had been patient all throughout. Then one day, when Sai demanded that his uncle play with him a serious game, he was slaughtered over the board. It was an unforgettable feeling, the fear, the anxiety, the despair, the hopelessness, and all you could do was cower.

Shuddering, Sai pushed the thoughts from his mind. He didn't need Hikaru to feel the same insecurity as he had back then simply because their minds and emotions were linked. Sai turned to face the board. Yes, as expected, Hikaru had gone out of his way to ruin his opponent's day by ruthlessly exchanging the possession of territories without agreement on both parties.

The boy couldn't sit still. He was shaking all over and itching to get out of the room, itching to get away from the monster before him. That initial loss, was it all on purpose? He couldn't believe that a boy like that was third captain. He was fairly sure that even his first captain wouldn't be able to withstand this kind of dominance.

It was terrifying. The game, though rather inexperienced and still young in terms of attack, bore signs of developing into a massacre. Shed were the white stones into black's prison, gone were the bright kingdoms filled with towering walls. In their places were erected fortresses of the night, spreading terror over the citizens so used to the light.

He couldn't exactly tell how much he was about to lose to his opponent, but he did know enough to deduce that this game was a lost cause. His hopes were just dashed with that one hand that was placed smack in the center of his territory. The shivering fingers that hovered over the white stones made no move to pick up one of them, and dropped to the side of their master.

"I have nothing."

Hikaru blinked. Was the game already over? He had yet to launch his full assault. A glance over at the boy sitting opposite of him confirmed his unsure thoughts. He was shivering in his seat, and the eyes that looked at the Go board were glazed over with what looked like tears.

"I…uh…thank you for the game," Hikaru bowed with a stutter.

"Thank you." Without another word, the boy exited the room as quickly as he could with a walking pace, making sure to make as little noise as possible while doing so.

Peeking briefly over his shoulder, Hikaru figured that though Natsume was pretty much dead, Mitani was holding out relatively well against his opponent. Actually, he totally dominated him. It was a wonder his opponent hadn't resigned. He slowly picked out the black stones from the white and returned them to his container, before sweeping the white stones off the board and gathering them in their rightful jar. Really, someone should make an effort to appeal to the management that players are not allowed to leave until they've done their cleaning up, and that someone might just be Hikaru.

Calmly, the two-tone haired boy made his way to behind both Mitani and Natsume, and he was just in time to witness Natsume's pathetic crushing loss against his opponent. Hikaru winced and turned his eyes onto Mitani's game which was almost finished, and from what he could see, it was a good game. Mitani had improved over the past few months, and Hikaru felt oddly smug about it all, thinking that it was due to the multiple teaching games he had played with Mitani.

Yes, Mitani would win his game, but by how much, Hikaru could only guess. He stood by till both games were over and Mitani had recorded the scores.

* * *

"Kaio's going to be one tough cookie to crack again," Mitani mumbled through the cookie crumbs dotting his lips. Akari had been nice enough to bake some chocolate chip cookies for the day on top of just making lunch boxes. The girls had lost in the semi-finals and stayed only to witness the boys' matches.

Hikaru raised an eyebrow and stared at the cookie in Mitani's hand. "Is that supposed to be a pun?"

As if just realizing he was holding a cookie (which was probably true), Mitani's eyes flicked to the half-eaten cookie and back to Hikaru, glaring, "No."

"Figures." Gulping down the last of his milk from the milk carton, Hikaru crushed it and stood up. "Come on, we've got to go or we'll be late. We can leave the lunch boxes here, the girls will pack up, right?" He winked in the direction of Akari.

"Hikaru!" the girl immediately protested.

Chuckling, Hikaru picked up his lunch box. "Kidding, kidding. Wouldn't dare make you do my dirty work after you've so kindly made lunch for us."

After disposing of the used utensils into the bin close by, the group of six trooped to the room where the competition was held with Hikaru finding excuses to be carried up the stairs instead, claiming that he was so full he couldn't walk. Akari knuckled him before ignoring his cries totally.

"Haze Junior High and Kaio Junior High teams, please report to the designated tables immediately. The games will begin in two minutes."

Stopping his foolish acts altogether, Hikaru lifted his head. "Ah, there goes our call. See you guys later." With a slight bounce in his steps, Hikaru swiftly jogged to the tables with Mitani trailing dignified behind him and Natsume scurrying like a mouse in their shadows, determined not to lose this game like he did the others due to nervousness.

Hikaru dropped lightly onto his seat and smeared his hand over his pants to ease the creases, then sat back and waited till Mitani had chosen for colour. There was a clacking of stones to indicate that he would be notified of which role he was playing soon.

"Shindou, you're black again."

Ah, great. There was something he wanted to try out. Waiting impatiently for Natsume to be done with exchanging the stones, he twiddled with his fingers, and then greeted his opponent relatively absentmindedly when all fidgeting on Natsume's side had toned down. Hikaru pushed his hand into the container and released a slight smile dictating his sense of belonging before fishing a stone out and strategically place it on the board.

The lion had awoken from its slumber.

* * *

Yun could stand for all he cared, but he just couldn't pull his eyes off the game. He had known, since the boy suddenly appeared before him and Touya, that he was special. Bleached fringe with a messy edge to his dressing, he was far from a typical Go player, something that Touya was, but his play would have far exceeded a normal player. He was sure the boy was in some ways superior to the hailed son of the Meijin, and would probably cause a bigger hubbub around the Go world than he did since he was virtually unknown.

The teacher understood that initial assessment of people might not be correct, but he had yet to come across someone whom he totally misread, that is, until Shindou Hikaru galloped into his life through the doors of Kaio's Go Club's room. He was a diamond in the rough, absolutely attention grabbing even though he wasn't refined, and those who knew of it would never forget what they had witnessed, but this gem had a major flaw. It smudged itself with dirt at the most inopportune of times, marring its shine that was too bright to be true; a shine that still had room to multiply in intensity despite how bright it already was.

Perhaps he had been unlucky to chance upon one such time when the boy didn't show half the ability he had to read ahead as he had in his game with Touya. In fact, he was losing his territories so quickly Yun wondered if he was even trying. The boy's bored eyes and sloppy hands seemed to encourage his stand with unintended firmness.

Monotonous slapping of stones went in from one ear and out from the other, leaving Yun to stare aimlessly at the third board. He had hoped for some sort of epic battle between the two. It was disappointing enough that Shindou was playing as third captain, but to play this terribly? Yun hadn't expected that. He specially trained the third captain so intensely he surpassed the second captain, resulting in a switch in board positions between the second and the third, but to have this disappointing game displayed before him was like showing him the foolishness of his actions.

Once, twice, thrice, stupid hands were repeated over and over again, being totally useless and of no help to the progression of the game. None of them turned out to be great hands; none of them turned the tides of the games. They were simply redundant.

Growing tired of the game, Yun spared a glance at the other boards. Haze's first board wasn't too shabby, but he still paled in comparison to the home school's representative. There was maybe a few moku difference between them, but a few was enough to set them apart. Tentatively, the Haze's second board was terrible compared to the first and third (assuming that it was in relation to the third board's full strength). Though he was better than average, but so were his peers. It was only natural for him to be compared alongside his other teammates, where one would find him more suited for third board.

They were fast entering endgame with unsatisfactory play. Kaio's third captain was doing well and up to standard, yes, but Haze's was a mess. It could be told from the flashes of discontent in both the eyes of Kaio's third captain and his teacher. Yun sighed with disapproval of the game, then turned away for some water by the table at the front of the room.

On his way back, he was detained by another teacher who chatted amiably with him about the competition, about how the youngsters were inheriting the love of the game as well. As their conversation drew to an end, he made to return to the games, utterly bewildered by the sudden horde of people rushing to gather round them. Squeezing his way through, he got the shock of his life. In ten or so moves right at the end of endgame, Shindou had managed to turn the game around and triumph by three and a half moku by connecting, cutting off, and invading a game's worth of moves.

Yun felt faint. It was hard to describe what exactly was running through his mind then, but to summarize, he was filled with praises for Shindou, hailing him as a Go genius. The said boy fell back onto his chair smiling lightly to himself while swatting perspiration off his face and forehead, he then rubbed his sweaty palms on his pants leg to dry them, an act Yun disapproved of but didn't have the courage to voice out after witnessing the aftermath of his monstrous strength. It was no way to speak to someone who was above him. The boy was blissfully oblivious to the crowd that had gathered around him and was acting as if he were in his own world.

* * *

_Hikaru, that was great!_

Grinning inwardly, Hikaru replied, _Wasn't it? Did you think I was going to lose badly?_

The ghost frowned. _Yes, but until hand 17-3. You kind of made it pretty obvious there, it's a wonder Yun-sensei didn't notice it._

Cocking his head slightly, the boy let out a belated sigh of relief. _It was a rather sketchy plan. I didn't really think I could carry it out all through midgame and then endgame, but it worked out well after all. I guess it was just due to the simplicity of my opponent's style. It wasn't that hard to give a pattern to._

_It was still marvelous, though._

_Uh huh, yup, it was._ Hikaru nodded in agreement. _Hey, let's go check out how Mitani and Natsume are doing._ Setting apart the black from the white quickly and leaving the black to clatter about in the container, Hikaru pushed out his chair and walked over to the other two team members.

Sai watched as Hikaru overlooked the attention he was getting as he started honing in to the remaining two games. A loud scraping went unnoticed by Hikaru while people started piling onto one another to catch the replay of his game and chip in some questions. All of a sudden, Sai felt neglected. People discussed Hikaru's game, they talked about his moves, they hunted for alternative hands he could have played, but no one gathered in clusters to dissect Sai's games, no one chattered for hours on how he could have improved, no one spoke out about him at all.

Sai shook his head. Maybe he was just thinking too much into things, after all, he was just a ghost whom no one could see. All he had was his Go. He should be glad for just being able to play through Hikaru, but he couldn't deny the tiny spark of jealousy within him.

Shooing the thoughts from his head, Sai returned to watching the final stages of the remaining games, settling for the privilege of living a thousand years to play Go again.

Haze lost 2-1, but were nonetheless satisfied with their play (with the obvious exception of Mitani who still couldn't get over his two straight losses against Kaio). Natsume had overcome his anxiousness of playing in a competition before the game and played with a mind calm enough to give Kaio's second board a fairly hard time.

* * *

"Shindou played this game?" His confusion dug into his furrowed brows. The game was terrible, like someone had just strewn the Go stones randomly across the board. "It's…incomprehensible. I know he plays strange hands that kick in only twenty, forty, or even sixty moves after it was placed, but this is ridiculous! He's falling behind by at least forty moku!"

Yun chuckled softly but didn't stop placing the stones. He himself had thought the game was crazy and absolutely unplanned, until he returned from a drink when only ten hands on each side had passed and the shapes started making sense.

Ah, that hand. Yun recalled that was where he left. "Touya-kun, turn around and face the wall. Please do not peak. I'll call you back when I'm done."

Perplexed but obedient nonetheless, Akira turned his eyes to the wall. Yun-sensei wasn't the type to do things without reason, but his last request was befuddling. It was just a terrible game, why would anyone need to look away before the conclusion? The game was pretty much already decided. There was little that anyone could do in endgame.

The sharp snaps of stones to the board stopped and Yun signaled for Akira to turn back.

Upon analyzing the final layout, Akira's eyes widened considerably. "This…!"

"Shindou-kun is full of surprises, isn't he?" Yun worded out for the boy who seemed to have a sudden surge of difficulty in breathing highly likely caused by one Shindou Hikaru indirectly. Not being able to even voice a syllable, Akira simply nodded in agreement. What kind of a being was Shindou?

"Ten hands…" Akira whispered when he finally got his voice back. "Ten hands and he secured a win from a forty moku loss…he killed off white's group up there and made it his, found two eyes within another of white's territories, and rid the whole board of the entire middle cluster of white of over twenty stones using supposedly dead stones…," he breathed reviewing the game.

"He's going to take the Go world by storm," Yun commented jokingly.

Akira simply stared at the board in reply.

* * *

_Hey, Hikaru, can you tell how many moku you're lagging behind by?_ Sai asked.

Hikaru replied without looking up, "Not a clue." He placed a stone and then suggested, "Maybe ten to fifteen?"

_Wrong._ A ghostly fan tapped the board. _You're losing by at least twenty-five_.

Scratching his head, Hikaru expressed almost nonchalantly, "Huh. Can't tell, but I know enough to conclude that I'm getting myself thrown about over the board."

Hikaru looked at Sai when a shuffling sound filled the room for a brief second. Sai had opened his fan, and though half his face was covered, Hikaru could tell that the ghost had on a thoughtful look. _It would be great if you could force a tie…_

"Force a tie?" Hikaru repeated with the slightest bit of interest. "What's that? You can't do it with the five and a half moku komi, right?"

_But you can do it with handicapped games. There isn't the usual five and a half moku, but your opponents start with black and have extra stones. You've experienced it before, playing handicapped games. In fact, you've experienced it multiple times. If you tried you could beat Kawai-san in handicapped games. Now you should try to tie your games, make the scores even._

"Isn't that hard?" Hikaru commented lazily. It sounded interesting, but at the same time extremely difficult. He was no Sai after all. Thinking through, Hikaru placed his next stone.

_Of course it's hard! It's a challenge, Hikaru,_ Sai huffed and pointed at a spot which Hikaru filled with a Go stone a second later. _Tomorrow you're going to Dougenzaka and playing forced ties, as many boards as you require to get the hang of counting territories._

Pausing abruptly and looking up from the game, Hikaru interrupted, "Wait, 'as many boards'? Are you going to make me force ties on more than one board?" Multiple-board games were fun, especially when one aims to win, but will forcing a tie dull the excitement?

_Why not?_ The ghost shrugged. _As long as you're able to determine your points accurately, it doesn't harm, does it?_

"I guess," Hikaru said off-handedly. He didn't want to spend any more time than necessary to quarrel with the ghost, especially over such trivial matters.

* * *

A gust of wind blew past his face as the doors to the salon opened and Hikaru stepped in.

"Look who we have here," Kawai alerted the rest of the patrons as soon as he recognized the hairstyle.

"Kawai-san," Hikaru greeted uncharacteristically. He set himself in his usual seat which was opened up the moment the geezer sitting there noticed his presence. For a moment, Hikaru bathed in the glory of being the most 'wanted' client of the salon, getting almost everything he wanted (save the smoke-free environment he would have loved so).

When Hikaru remembered what he was about to say, he hesitated. Kawai-san wouldn't do anything strange to him if he did ask the question, right? Deciding that he had to go through it sooner or later, sooner might be better and spoke, "Kawai-san, can we, you know, play a game with your usual two stone handicap?"

Kawai recoiled in surprise. Well, that was rare. Despite himself, he managed a small grin, "So you've finally learnt how to ask politely."

Growling, Hikaru replied, "Don't push it. I wouldn't have asked that nicely if my friend would stop wailing about my terrible manners." Hikaru lifted the lid off the nearest container, and upon sight of the white stones, he set the cover to his side.

Smiling wryly with a strange calmness, Hikaru lowered his head and whispered, "Please."

"Please."

An unnatural stillness fell upon the salon as all within bore witness to the currently unfolding game. No one dared to move away, and no one dared to draw closer, for the game was so breath-taking that leaving would only mean losing track of it, for the air was so dense it weighed so heavily no one would step even a meter closer for fear of having their lungs crushed. It was an unimaginable phenomenon. Was it even possible for this kind of atmosphere to be created between two people whose skills were worlds apart?

The pace of the game was neither fast nor slow, but there was something unusual about it that no one could quite identify. They watched on silently as stones were placed and taken, lost and renewed. Both had looks of concentration on their faces, but the boy gave the impression of deeper thoughts, higher level of thinking, but his game, though magnificent, never narrowed the gap between him and his opponent.

Stones clicked as they made contact with the board, and a serene sensation gushed over the quiet audience like a huge wave, engulfing them in a sort of ecstasy just by being an on-looker. They could not comprehend the depth of the boy's thinking, and probably never will. At that moment, the boy was way above them all even though the point difference may say otherwise.

Observing the game from above, Sai concluded that there were too many inferences to be made. Hikaru was an exceptional player who did well on his first tries. He had room for rapid growth and was never limited by the standards of modern society. He found ways to counter that didn't make sense at all, he manipulated his opponents in a way that had no logical reasoning, and he converted hands in an absolutely incomprehensible way. One day, Hikaru would simply take the Go world by storm, blow them all away and shock them till they were speechless. That was his potential.

Sadly, he had yet to reach the standard of professionalism, though Sai would have willingly wagered his 'life' that Hikaru would have effortlessly overcome at least a quarter of the adversaries in the lower-dan with fair ease. He had already started giving Touya a hard time. No, he had already surpassed Touya in many ways. It wasn't just a hard time anymore. They were almost equals, and yet Touya was only one of the many stepping stones to aid Hikaru in his rapid growth.

There it was – the deciding hand. Hikaru would overcome this challenge and move on to the next. He would one day leave Touya in the dust, and if he worked even harder, even Sai himself may no longer be above him, but for now, Sai was content to watch Hikaru grow, to nurture him in his early stages of awkward growth spurts in his abilities.

Face flushed, Hikaru narrowed his eyes with concentration. It was only that aura around him that kept people from poking him to ask if he was alright with only a draw with Kawai. The customers in the salon shifted their eyes nervously from one another, none of them daring to look into Hikaru's eyes.

"Three boards. I'll play three boards." The whisper was so soft that only amongst the stillness of the room could it be heard. "Soga-san and Tsukasa-san, I'll play with you. Kawai-san, reset the boards." No one could deny this request, this demand that was laced with determination and a tad of…triumph? The customers parted for Soga and Tsukasa to take a seat by the tables at the boy's sides, each setting up a Go board for themselves.

Whilst the men were getting their respective boards ready, Soga spoke, "Shindou-kun, I understand that you are upset about your loss against Kawai, but you don't have to force yourself." Hikaru was like a grandson to all of them here (maybe with the exception of Kawai who didn't look too old), and they didn't want to see him coerce himself into playing so many games and lose. They didn't know what happened, but Hikaru was different. He was more distant, more demanding, less cheerful.

Hikaru tilted his head toward Soga. "You don't have to pity me, just play at your full strength," he reassured. "If I don't manage to win all the games, we'll have four boards."

Soga didn't understand the boy. Why would he go for four boards if he couldn't handle Kawai alone? For all he knew, Hikaru had long shot past Kawai and should have been able to defeat him hands down, but he didn't seem to have played well in their last game. Why on Earth would he increase the number of boards? But of course, Hikaru had always been quite a mystery to them, so he never bothered to pry. He had to have his own reasons for doing as he did. After all, no matter how ridiculous and naïve the boy may seem, he did have common sense, at least, Go sense enough to top the insei classes.

A chorus of 'please's echoed through the room, bouncing off the walls in an out of place enthusiasm.

**

* * *

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Yay! Another long chapter! Goodness, I feel like I'm writing an old grandmother's story. It doesn't seem very interesting. I'm gonna need lots of humour, but I can't find a place to insert them in… oh, by the way, I use British English, so beware of my extra 'u's in 'humour' or 'favourite' and the likes! I'm counting on you to not report any spelling errors like these. XD

**Okay, that was pretty random. Anyway, so Hikaru plays, and guess what? He…I'm not gonna tell you. It wouldn't be fun then, but again, the expected result is so clichéd. Hikaru's demeanor changed a little in this chapter. A bit more serious, but he would go back to normal after the games are over. I really should stop changing the characters' personality so much…anyway, just a little spoiler, Hikaru's gonna play four games later! Can you guess what his motive in playing all these games are (okay, I know this is an extremely lame rhetorical question…)? Oh, look at me, I'm treating people like they were kindergarteners when most of them are going to be older than me…NOOO! Need to keep my ego in check, need to keep my ego in check…**

**Oh, by the way, Tsukasa is just my own character. I couldn't remember the names of people from the salon other than the owner, Kawai, Niimi and Soga. Niimi's play sucks, wouldn't be much of a challenge for Hikaru, so I replaced him this Tsukasa guy. Give me better names. I'm Chinese, so I'm not too experienced with Japanese surnames even though they use my mother tongue's characters…anyway, Chinese is not my first language…English is, so if I'm terrible at narration, it's not because of my race, okay? I'm pretty proud to be Chinese *grins*, but my Chinese is terrible. I failed the last test and am probably gonna fail the next too…ow…**

**Ah, and sorry for the totally OOC Ogata in the last chapter. I couldn't find a better way to reveal how strong (and terribly strange) Hikaru was. Touya-sensei wasn't one to talk much, so Ogata was the best choice, though he evaluates things too much and too well for his own good. I don't know much about the other study group members (and they don't know anything about Hikaru). Akira is just…not at the standard to be able to figure out how good Hikaru is yet. He hasn't reached the level of 7-dan or so, therefore he shouldn't be able to…uh…elaborate well on Hikaru's strange and absurd style? I'm making no sense whatsoever…**

**Sketch: **Uh…oops. Was it Akari you were talking about? Uh…I interpreted it as Akira…maybe I've just seen his name (and the AkiHika pairing) one too many times…ARGH! What's wrong with me? Anyway, sorry again! And there's not gonna be romance between Hikaru and Akari either. This is purely about Hikaru and his Go (for now. Later we'll go on to some other issue with Hikaru, but no romance), and I don't plan to insert romance anywhere…it's gonna be mighty strange…though I do have fictions in my computer about Akira/Hikaru, but one of them is always a girl (mostly Hikaru). XD Anyway, I don't really like Akari being together with Hikaru. It makes my blood boil (and I have absolutely no idea why, perhaps I just like femAki/Hika or femHika/Aki much better…don't their personalities click more naturally?).

**crystal starlight:** I have no idea how I got there either…it just seemed to flow…I want Hikaru all powerful and mighty but I can't have him beat Akira so soon…I need him to not totally beat everybody. Besides, it must correspond with the manga a little, right? If that's the case, he should have quite a struggle among the insei at that time and be stuck in 2nd class. See how it fits so snugly?


	7. Can I?

**I hope this chapter turns out good. I'm not really in the mood to write much since my exams are just round the corner…anyway, I'll keep writing for the fact that I want to keep the plot as alive as possible! Yah! Er…I'm being silly. Ignore me.**

**Man, I wish we'd hurry get on to Hikaru's pro life, but that comes in WAAAAAY after…aw shucks. Anyway, I hope starting with Kawai's point of view is alright. It's not gonna look too strange, is it? And you guys all know why Hikaru got a tie with Kawai, yes, yes? Sai talked to Hikaru about it a little in the last chapter. I'll…uh…do something strange (and totally off the charts) if you didn't get it. Oh what am I supposed to do with such charmingly naïve readers?**

**Well, for one, you'll be good fun to toy around with. XD No, that's just a lame substitution for…uh…entertaining myself. I don't do gross stuff like…it. You know, the S-word. Maybe I'm just too pure for my own good, but hey, as a Christian, I should be! That should be reserved till after marriage, which would mean, uh, never.**

**Just a note before you begin reading: due to Hikaru playing forced-ties on multiple-boards, he has sort of risen above insei standard with his 'lesser skilled' standard. Well, it hasn't happened yet but it will in this chapter. And I have absolutely no Go education so I do have to be forgiven for not using Go terms. I mean, I do know a few basics like 'atari' and 'yose', but is there an English translation for those?**

**Once again, a sincere apology for terrible sentencing and lack of humour. XP Um, this update is a little late, so I guess I'll apologize for that too?**

**

* * *

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Two Sides to a Face..or More

**Chapter 7: Can I?**

Kawai gritted his teeth. The boy was giving him no less pressure than he did before and against two other opponents too! What was this kid? There was an air of superiority around him that he probably never noticed. It was highly likely that it was a subconscious thing. The brat had never showed in his mannerisms that he thought he was greater than everybody else. It was quite the contrary, actually. He shied away from anything that seemed to suggest that he was above something or someone.

Back to the game, how could the boy do as well against him still? He had only managed a draw back then and that was while he was concentrating hard too! Kawai stole a glance at both Soga and Tsukasa's boards and then gasped throatily in surprise at how well the boy was holding out against the other two geezers. It was impossible! Well, he'd just have to give the kid a harder time then, try to crush him.

From far across the room, the door to the salon opened with a jangle. The man who entered took a look at the crowd of people and singled out a man, asking, "Watanbe, is Shindou-kun here today?"

Watanbe reluctantly pried himself away from the game and turned around. "Ah, owner," he acknowledged. He then glanced down at the plastic bag in the man's hands, "Back from the provision shop, I see? Yes, Shindou-kun is here today. He barely managed a tie against Kawai and now he's playing Kawai along with Soga and Tsukasa! Not to mention, he was strangely polite to Kawai when he came."

"Tie?" the owner repeated to himself. Now what was Shindou-kun doing, almost losing to Kawai? He highly doubted that Kawai had suddenly risen up in rank that much. Peeking over the shoulders of the other clients, he inspected the boards. He wasn't doing badly against the three on a whole, barely managing to keep up, but wasn't bad still. How could he have tied with Kawai if he could match up with the play of three people? Something strange was going on. He could not have just tied with Kawai.

All three games continued evenly, no one outstripping the other like the patrons expected, but Shindou-kun was concentrating too hard for their comfort. It would normally have taken much less effort out of him to gain victory over Kawai, and yet here he was, struggling even to keep up. There had to be something else behind this, unless Shindou-kun was just having a bad day. That would have been too simple a reason, but the owner couldn't think of more though he felt a deeper meaning to the games.

Ah, Shindou-kun had exhausted his stones on Soga's board. The owner strained to catch a glimpse of the end. No one could blame him for being surprised. The boy didn't win the game, or the others that fell into place after Soga's, but on the other hand, he didn't lose either. Another three more ties to add to his ever growing collection.

"Shindou-kun, what's going on?" the owner questioned the boy directly from behind the human wall which made a small passage for him to pass through when they heard him and recognized his voice.

The boy smiled a little. The owner noted that it wasn't a sad smile, and that made him cringe. He made up his mind to rush the boy to the nearest mental hospital given the first possible opportunity. "Shindou-kun, is there something wrong with you? You could have won easily, but you've only managed ties so far!"

"Nothing. I'm perfectly alright." The boy's eyes flickered to the three boards and sighed a sigh that didn't sound very much like a sigh, then proposed to the owner, "So I couldn't win any of them. Would you like to play me too? Four boards."

"Shindou-kun, are you sure?" the owner asked hesitantly. Could this child handle four boards?

The owner thought he saw the boy beam but waved it off as just his imagination when he spoke ever so seriously, "Yeah, I'm absolutely sure. Sit beside Kawai-san."

When the boards were set and reset, the games began.

Fifty hands into the game and the owner could see no way for the boy to tie against Kawai. He was sure the child was playing well. He was gaining territories with astonishingly strong hands, but at the same time, he quietly gave up others, though the owner was thinking that there had to be a deeper meaning to those losses. Shindou-kun never took unnecessary risks when it came to Go. Ties on three boards could not be a coincidence, especially with all three opponents of different skill levels.

A hundred and fifty hands into the game and the owner was beginning to see strange occurrences about the game. Sure, it was far from a terrible one, but he couldn't explain how he the boy was concentrating so hard yet not pulling away from the gap caused by the initial handicap. None of his hands turned out great like they usually did.

Two hundred and fifty hands into the game and the owner let his thoughts run wild. Shindou-kun was most definitely having an extremely bad day, or else he had been kidnapped and brainwashed by aliens. Nothing else could explain how he kept losing stones to the aging man (and his new found manners toward Kawai while at it). The normal Shindou-kun would defend (and somehow manage to attack) mercilessly the moment any of his stones were in danger, and his quirky style generally managed to throw people off course, but not this time. The owner managed to cling on to every chance of a revival and survival that opened up to him. It felt like a teaching game, and yet it did not.

Three hundred and fifty hands, almost the end of the game, and the owner started noticing things he hadn't (when he was still caught up in believing that the boy had been abducted by extraterrestrial creatures from galaxies more than mere light years away from Earth and then forced to go for days without ramen until he could learn standard courtesies). It was odd the way Shindou-kun didn't seem the least affected by the loss of his stones. He even looked like he was expecting it, and the boy was also letting the owner do his own thing, have things his own way. Of course, there were times when he interfered, but he mostly concentrated on building up his territory. And there was also the time when the boy looked alarmed at how far he had pulled ahead on the owner and set about furiously to narrow the point gap (that was how the owner interpreted it). Yes, something was going on.

Three hundred sixty hands into the game and everything finally clicked. The game was close, the owner was leading by two moku and he watched to confirm his suspicions. The final stone, a white one, was set into place, stealing a black stone from over the board. That did it. The owner finally knew what was happening. There was a better catch for the boy. There was a better catch a little more to the right than where he played. The catch of three stones, but the boy ignored it. He wasn't one to turn a blind eye toward important matters like that in endgame. No he wasn't. "Shindou-kun," the owner called once he was sure the other games were done and the rest had started on territory counting. He himself had finished a while back since the game ended quite a bit faster.

"Ah, owner," the boy looked up from his resting position with his eyes staring up at the ceiling, responding to his name.

"You were…trying to create forced ties, weren't you?"

The salon fell into an awkward hush as all eyes turned to the child – teen, so to speak, but everyone in the salon thought of him as their grandson (with the glorious exception of Kawai who said he was too young for that) whom they could spoil and pamper like they could an infant. The boy flushed a deep maroon. "You caught me," he uttered softly.

Kawai was the first to react. "Eh?"

"It's not 'Eh?', Kawai-san! Keep to yourself!" Hikaru muttered uncomfortably, scratching the back of his head.

Sputtering, Kawai coughed up, "That was brilliant, brat! Never thought you had it in you to force ties! Why'd you make them all look like terrible games?"

"I've got to lose territory," Hikaru explained uneasily, tracing an unseen pattern on the Go board while trying to escape the attention. The tense air began to scatter as the customers started murmuring amongst themselves, slowly dispersing to allow the boy some space to actually breathe without being suffocated by smoke.

The owner cleared his board and returned to the reception desk, smiling slightly at the scene unfolding before him. It was about time the kid tried forced-ties. An idea suddenly occurred to him. "Shindou-kun," the man called from the counter. "Do you still want to join the insei?"

"Of course," the boy replied coyly, albeit ambitiously. It was common knowledge around the salon that he had originally started patronizing it regularly to build up strength for the insei.

"It would be a good idea to sign up now, better get the forms before the registration closes. You've already gained enough strength."

Hikaru looked startled. Had he attained strength enough to join the ranks of insei in a mere three months? He thought it was a feat that would have taken him at least half a year to achieve. "I have?"

The owner affirmed with a firm nod, "You've gained more than enough, if I should say so myself. Passing the insei test shouldn't be too hard for you now. You may even find a pleasant surprise in store!"

The boy burst into a full blown smile. His dream was finally going to be realized.

* * *

"So you play Ochi after this, huh, Isumi-san," a boy sporting a mop of absurdly red hair put in place with gel enough to stick an elephant down stated to the other teen beside him.

The other teen who went by the name of Isumi Shinichirou or just Isumi-san to the boy with flaming hair rubbed his temples and pulled a face, "I haven't played him before even though he's been in the insei for over a few months. The way he rose up the ranks so quickly unsettles me," Isumi frowned. "By the way, Waya, who are you playing later?"

The boy who looked like he had dipped his head in non-extinguishable flames identified as Waya, who was (this should be noted) a good three years Isumi's junior at 15, pretended to keel over and gag. "He's gonna slaughter me again for sure…seriously, I don't get how he always finds a way to get past me even though I hold a much higher rank than him. Anyway, don't try to change the subject, if you're queasy about playing Ochi, say so. I'll find someone you can totally dominate over. Play a relaxed game for once, Isumi-san."

"No thanks," Isumi promptly refused. Waya's idea of 'totally dominate' was a bit over the edge. He probably meant to crush the opponent into little smithereens and thereby never allow them to play ever again, that is if they still have the spirit to keep on going after that devastating defeat.

The elevator doors slid open swiftly to reveal a boy clad in casual yellow clothes leafing through some documents who then unceremoniously stuffed the papers into his backpack. "Ah, that boy would bring you some relief," Waya exclaimed when he spotted the boy.

"Waya, no—," Isumi started but never finished the sentence for the redhead had already positioned himself right in front of the boy who simply stared at him startled. Isumi slapped a hand over his face, sending his dark bangs into the air for a fleeting second before they landed on his hand. He could not bear to see that stupid friend of his make a fool of himself requesting a game from someone who might not even play. Not everyone at the Go Institute played after all, take that preppy receptionist for example.

He peeked through his fingers in time to see Waya grinning triumphantly, ushering the boy toward him and leading poor victimized kid into the elevator, signalling for him to follow suit to which Isumi yielded and complied, suddenly feeling extremely ashamed just being around Waya.

It turned out that the boy had in fact agreed to a game, but said that a quick game would be better for he had a curfew to meet. Waya did the introductions, "Kid-I-picked-up-from-the-lobby, this is Isumi-san. Isumi-san, this is the kid I picked up from the lobby. Kid-I-picked-up-from-the-lobby, my name's Waya."

The boy visibly scowled at the nickname, and Isumi couldn't help but release a slight chuckle which was received with raised eyebrows. "Sorry," he muttered apologetically.

Seeming to accept the apology, the boy asked, "Why'd you want to play?"

Waya had already interrupted Isumi even before he got a chance to speak, "He's got…well, sort of a big game coming up in a while. Gotta practise a little, warm up, you know." Isumi could tell Waya was lying and enjoying it. Really, couldn't the boy just grow up a little?

"Oh," the boy responded. "A tournament?"

"Well," Waya started, "something like that. I'll be downstairs sipping something. Get me if you need help or anything."

Isumi nodded meekly as if resigning was something he did often when it came to Waya. As Waya trailed out of the room, Isumi turned to the green eyed boy and squinted an eye sheepishly, "Sorry for that. He's just a bit demanding, not really the type to consider other's opinions."

"That's okay," the boy called Hikaru stated shortly. "Choose for colour?" he suggested.

Isumi looked mildly surprised. "You're really playing?"

"I did agree." The boy drew a black stone from his container as Isumi clenched a handful and spread them on the board. "Looks like I'll be taking white," his opponent concluded as Isumi finished counting. "Oh, and please don't go easy on me. I'll need practise. I have a major test or something like that coming up in a month or so."

"Okay." The boy was urging the top insei to play at his fullest? Was he asking for a suicide? Well, if that was what he wanted, he would get it. "Please." Perhaps he just didn't know who Isumi was.

* * *

"Isumi-san, how was the game?" Waya asked chirpily when he returned from 'sipping something' finding Isumi sitting alone at the table. The boy was apparently long gone, probably crushed mercilessly under the weight of Isumi's skills. Ways shook his head slightly with a contented smile on his face. Surely, Isumi must have gotten his fighting spirit back, and just in time too. They were due to be back in the playing hall in a minute or two.

The boy circled Isumi curiously when the older teen did not reply, then slapped his back when he did not even notice Waya's hand collecting dust before his eyes. That seemed to work well enough for the black haired boy sputtered to life and craned his neck crankily to catch a glimpse of his abuser. "Waya!"

"I asked to how the game went, Isumi-san," Waya repeated himself, apparently very pissed. He took a quick glance at the board and did a quick analysis of the game before letting out a smooth whistle. "Great game, Isumi-san. You were white right?"

"Uh, no, actually—" Isumi begun but was never given the well-deserved opportunity to explain himself before being dragged to the playing hall by Waya who suddenly started yelling frantically at the top of his voice after a brief look at his watch.

"Well, looks like you could beat Ochi without any problems. How come you never told me you could play this well? The kid was unexpectedly good. He could probably make it to the top sixteen of the first class or so. I get the feeling that his game is similar to the person I played in the salon I went to a few weeks back. I've told you about him before, right? That kid called 'Shindou Hikaru' who beat me in blind Go," Waya chattered to himself as he lugged a protesting Isumi behind him.

In the meantime, Isumi felt himself shrinking. Was that what Waya really thought of his game? It was depressing enough to be defeated by a kid younger than Waya but to have his friend praising him for a game he never played appealed to him less than losing did.

That day, Isumi Shinichirou lost badly against Ochi Kousuke, relinquishing his title of 'top insei' for the first time in years head hung in permanent defeat even before their game began.

* * *

"Hikaru, is there really a need to join this class? Isn't the one near our house enough?" a lady in her late thirties or early forties pressed her son worriedly. It was great that he was serious about something for once but it made her feel insecure one way or the other.

"Of course not! That class is just for old ladies who play for fun. No one really improves." Hikaru pulled a face. It was great that the teacher was a pro, but he didn't get to play many strong opponents in the class. The aged students there seemed to enjoy giving away free money to the pro that taught the class.

Hikaru treaded past the threshold and came face to face with a wall of cool air that bustled past his face to join their warmer counterparts outside. His mother walked behind him with small steps glancing every now and then at items and furnishings in the building nervously.

A balding man in his fifties approached the two. "You must be Shindou Hikaru."

"Yup," Hikaru confirmed and was then led away into the awaiting elevator. The boy fumbled nervously with his shirt, hoping it wouldn't be too sloppy for the occasion. Really, he should start making a habit out of judging his clothes before putting them on instead of worrying about what he had on after half an hour of having done so.

He barely noticed when a lady strictly instructed him to place his shoes in the allotted compartments before being introduced to a kindly looking aged man who smiled at him pleasantly as if he hadn't just made the girl leaving the room cry by rejecting her insei application. "This is the last child, sensei."

"Shindou Hikaru, correct?"

Not trusting his voice, Hikaru swallowed and nodded mechanically.

"Come in and take a seat."

Hikaru stepped into the room behind the man and felt faint when he saw two cushion laid out on opposite sides of a Go board. There was no way he could sit on that for even a minute without cramping up his legs. Suppressing a groan, Hikaru knelt hesitantly on the cushion further from the door while his mother settled herself anxiously beside him on the thinly matted ground.

The old man whom Hikaru took to be the insei master closed the door before getting into kneeling position with extreme ease and fluidity which took the boy by surprise, seeing how old the man was.

"Your resume and kifu please," the man extended a hand to Hikaru who obediently placed the required documents on the man's opened palm. He watched apprehensively as the insei master browsed through his kifu with apparent disinterest, lingering on each of them for a mere minute or two before going on to the next.

The insei master inhaled sharply while flipping through Hikaru's kifu. The boy was pretty average, not too good. He didn't do quite so well against Touya Akira (the man almost had a stroke when he saw that name), and didn't manage a win against someone of calibre around amateur 2-dan. It was a tie, in fact. Another of his games was pretty sloppy, and so was his opponent. It made the man wonder if the boy even knew he was taking a test to qualify for the insei.

Shaking his head, the insei master gestured to the Go board, "Let's play a game. Set down three stones." It was best not to jump into conclusions about the child before they even played. For all he knew, those games might just be one of the worst the boy had played though it would be a mystery as to why he did not present his better games.

"Excuse me, how long would the test take?"

The man looked up in surprise. Perhaps he had been too caught up criticizing the child's play to notice the mother at his side. "It will take about an hour. You can wait outside, have a drink." He spared not a second thought and returned his attention to the board. It would be rude to simply brush off the boy as nothing since he had taken the courage to step up and applied for the insei. "Please."

"Please."

Hikaru calmed his nerves and reminded himself that this was not going to be a teaching game; it was going to be his own style in his own unique way of ridiculously hidden traps. If he did not do well, he would brush up on attuning his style to fit others. Yes, he would just play like he did Waya back at the salon and Isumi almost a month ago.

The boy reached deep into his forest of black stones and retrieved a stone which found itself on the 3-5 intersection a second later.

As the game started taking shape, Hikaru began to panic. He could not play this man like he did against Waya and Isumi. The man was well above the two teens. A small crystal orb of perspiration dripped from Hikaru's chin and landed right on the peak of a black stone.

He had to play better Go.

With that thought in mind, Hikaru felt his worries and anxiety suddenly slip away like rain on a window pane. All of a sudden he knew what to do; he could just feel it from within him. His moves flowed naturally as if the game was just one he picked up on the streets with no strings attached. It was fun. Judgments were easy to make for problems were simple and straight-forward thus easily solved. He didn't require more than ten seconds pondering on each hand.

Everything went smoothly until Hikaru spotted a possible trap. He was about to nestle a stone at point 4-11 when reality rushed back into his head along with past experiences of trap settings, promptly ruining his euphoria and blissful ignorance of the insei master's stunned face. Could he risk the trap? Was the possibility that the man wouldn't see the opening great? Dare he take a leap of faith? His game against Touya had gone to show that not all traps laid would be left un-thwarted (in fact, they could be rendered useless even before they were carried out), and Hikaru had yet to grasp the man's style entirely as it was far more complex than even Touya's and was almost maze-like.

He couldn't decide. Was it worth the risk listening to the half of him screaming to put the plan into action? If he didn't play the trap there was a high chance of being overtaken by a large margin, but if he did play the trap, there was no guarantee that it may succeed for it required an absurd hand for the foundation that Hikaru knew from experience most people couldn't see, and if it doesn't, it would bring him a huge disadvantage having wasted the hands.

Either way, he could lose everything. Gripping the stone in his hand so tightly it almost bit into his skin, Hikaru let it go above intersection 14-11. It was all or nothing.

Hikaru watched the insei master with nervous anticipation as the man calmly picked up a white stone to place on the board. His trap had yet to be laid, but it first needed the final bucket of cement to the foundation and there was only one place to put it. The bucket of cement was essential.

A white stone found its way to intersection 15-12, almost effectively blocking out Hikaru's previous hand of 14-11. The boy heaved a sigh of relief but halted before the insei master could give him any more strange looks. With new found confidence, Hikaru picked a stone floating in a sea of its kind and felt the cool surface on his fingertips, breathing deeply before snapping open his eyes and slamming his black stone down with certainty. He was going to play the trap and nothing would stop him (unless, of course, the insei master could see through it).

The feeling of lightness encased him once more, leaving him in his own world with only him, the Go board, and his opponent. Such a state rendered him the ability to better read ahead for it cleared his mind of unnecessary frets and excessive bother. Within this state of constructing his own universe, Hikaru relied heavily on instinct. It needed to be controlled, but for the moment while the trap had already been planned, Hikaru simply let himself be freed of everything – even that dull ache in his legs from remaining in a position half an hour overdue.

The trap would last for most of midgame and a little into endgame but Hikaru knew he would be able to carry out. He had done so before, mapped out the intended outcome in that final game played during the last tournament. He just had to relax and not allow doubt or dreary rain clouds to seep into his mind. He would require confidence.

His heartbeat picked up pace when the moment came. The next hand would be the deciding hand. If the man managed to play a hand different from expected, he would be safe, but if he did not, well, he would lose valuable territory to put it bluntly. His mind closed in on a specific coordinate willing with every fibre in his being the next stone would end up there.

The trap fell apart when a stone was placed next to the intended spot with an ominous, echoing click.

Biting his lip to stop himself from grimacing, Hikaru shut his eyes in frustration. It was all going well until that hand. He had come so far and was yet stopped by something like that, a mere shift to the right. He was so caught up in digging his nails into his palms and chewing on his lip that he almost missed the insei master's call of, "We shall end the game here."

Hikaru glanced up reluctantly, expecting a grim faced man frowning in disapproval of the game. He dragged his eyes to meet the insei master's but found the man studying the board with pronounced interest, earning a face of disbelief from the boy.

"Sensei, that game was terrible, please don't look at it so…" Hikaru couldn't find a right word for it, but he found he needn't, for the man had interrupted his speech.

"It was a wonderful game, Shindou-kun," the insei master commented to Hikaru's utter incredulity.

"But sensei, that knight's move here wasn't big enough, and I even let my trap be disrupted by you!" Fingers blurred across the board as Hikaru started pointing out more faults of his (that were seemingly insignificant, if one might add) in a fashion similar to the post-game discussion with Touya Akira slightly over half a year ago. The insei master stared in odd amusement while the boy worked his way through minor faults in chronological order (save the trap).

Hikaru winced inwardly as he uncovered more of his petty errors. Sai would surely have berated him incessantly for missing out on those. True to his words, Sai was right beside him calling out all his faults in a commanding tone and suggesting alternate hands at chain fire speed. _You see there, Hikaru. You caved in to the man's wishes and backed off. You should have held on a little longer, you'd find a chance to revive your stones at 6-9._

"Shindou-kun."

Hikaru ignored the man and continued his ramble.

The insei master cleared his throat loudly and called out in an almost thunderous voice, "Shindou-kun."

That seemed to be enough to snap the boy back to reality. "Yes, sensei?"

"Contrary to your beliefs, Shindou-kun, I do feel that your game was very good," the man began before launching into a full elaboration. "You should have pulled back when I attacked here, but the resistance was stronger than most insei. You later moved on to an assault at the top right corner to claim my territory. I congratulate you for successfully acquiring it. You made the right choice by abandoning the onslaught at the bottom right and retreating to the left to build up on your territory for dragging the fight any longer would do you no good.

"The connection here was well timed. If it were a little too premature I might still be able to invade without worries, but since I have already built up a territory up to yours, it would have been risky to try and attack since I hadn't yet enforced it. Snapbacks are great but you overused them here.

That hand over there, the one where you lost about ten moku, wasn't too good. I'd suggest—"

"7-15, right?" the boy interjected with a distraught look on his face. "I couldn't think properly at the start so I cause such a careless mistake. If not, the game might have been better."

Years of sending crying children out of a room had made the insei master sure of the fact that he had seen all variations of personalities and attitudes there was to bear witness to but this boy just stumbled into the room and loudly proclaimed that he was a unique child through his actions. No applicant had interrupted him when he was trying to make a suggestion for improvement and this boy had decided to break him out of the monotonous routine. Each and every child that had entered and left either had an air of confidence or were sweating buckets but all of them were similar in fashion when the insei master pointed out mistakes and offered corrections–none of them made a move to barge into his speech though the man did see some twitch with impulse.

And there was another thing about the boy that made him special.

"I was about to point out 8-15 but it seems you've gone a step ahead again."

The boy groaned with slight displeasure, "Sensei, don't compliment me like that. I'm really no good. I couldn't even hold a matchstick to that Kishimoto guy from Kaio, and 8-15 is a route leading to immediate suicide."

The insei master widened his eyes a fraction. Surely, this boy hadn't seen through it, had he? "Please do show."

Wordlessly, Hikaru cleared the little area which was the topic of the discussion and started placing stones, alternating the colours. 8-15 might be good against Mitani, heck, maybe even the Isumi guy he met the other day, but it wouldn't be good enough against Touya. The teen teeming with what might just be glossy (and perhaps slimy, judging from his hair) algae would simply rip the 'plan' to shreds with his vicious game. Hikaru had known nobody aside from Sai to be able to so heartlessly slice an opponent into two pieces and still retain his calm demeanour. Hikaru himself winced the moment he gained over a ten point advantage over anybody.

A grin slowly spread across the man's face. This child did have a great amount of potential. His resume documented about a year's worth of experience and here he was playing like a pro. It is true that 8-15 had gaps and holes in it, and the fact also remains that 7-15 was a formidable point provided that one could read ahead enough to carry it out, and boy seemed wholly capable of that.

This kind of talent comes only once ever fifty years. The last time he had seen anyone like this was the Meijin. It required no more than an hour for him to grasp the basics and be able to play at 20-kyu level. Another 2 hours had him rise to 12, and his progress never ceased to record a negative growth. It was still obvious to the world that Touya-Meijin was improving on his Go as he went along, but the path he took was lonely and void of a light source to guide his feet and a rival to urge him forth. His growth was all based on internal strength. It made the insei master wonder how the Meijin's play would improve if he had found himself a rival.

The younger Touya, however, might just have found someone his age to challenge with. Shindou Hikaru. This strange enigma without a tournament record and reputation might just give him a run for his money. While it remained true that Touya Akira was dominating the whole of the lower-dan, the Institute could not have just had him promoted to three or four-dan immediately upon passing the pro test. It would have been unfair for the rest of the applicants (though some would have argued that him staying in the lower-dan was unfair in its own way).

Before the insei master could realize where the boy was heading, he had already launched into a full scale explanation on how the man had thwarted his plans brutally with that single hope-crushing hand. The man shook his head with amusement. He somehow had the feeling the boy didn't even know that he had already passed the test and was still fretting about the outcome.

"Shindou-kun, you really can stop here. There is no need for you to further elaborate."

Hikaru looked up worriedly. Did he get too caught up in discussing the game he had totally neglected the insei master and was now being rejected for his horrid behaviour? It proved futile to analyze the man's expression for he seemed to hit a wall after getting past the wrinkles just before grasping an understanding of the man's feelings.

The man, as if sensing his discomfort, smiled lightly but that only proved to send the boy into another nervous fit so he toned down on the enthusiasm. "Your comprehension of the game seems to be satisfactory, but could you explain these kifu? They do not look like very good games. The reading was a bit shallow in them but you did do quite well against Touya-kun."

"That's because it was Touya! How can anyone do well against him? I had to resign before endgame to avoid that embarrassing half a moku defeat. I was so close!" Hikaru exploded into a slight ramble before clamming his mouth shut at the horror of his sudden impulsive speaking.

"Half a moku?" It was impossible for the insei master to not express surprise. Half a moku against Touya Akira, and the boy had seen that even before endgame? The man was willing to wager that not even the top insei could do that.

"Yes. The game with Kawai-san was supposed to be a forced-tie so even I could see it must have looked pretty terrible from an outsider's point of view. The other game against Waya was blind Go."

The insei master perked up at the name 'Waya'. "You know him?"

"Yes. I met him at the salon I frequent. He was offering to play blind Go at the salon so…brashly. I was a little disappointed by the game. He was boasting about how good he was before it started so I assumed he would have been pretty skilled but I think I went above him at midgame and he resigned. He hasn't caught a glimpse of me yet. Well, he did almost a month ago but he didn't know it was me whom he had played against at the salon. He made all of us at the salon…very aware that he was an insei, declared that both before and after the game, though it didn't register in my head the first time he said it." It took Hikaru a while to realize he was digressing again and another 'while' to remind his mouth to close and stay close.

"Ah, that's just like him," the insei master commented quietly with a slight chuckle. That was indeed like Waya to do so, but there were more pressing matters than Waya's personality, though the man might have enjoyed marvelling at the apparent ease of the boy's triumph against Waya. "That game with Kawai, you said it was a forced-tie?"

"Yes." Frankly, Hikaru was getting tired of all the 'yes's he seemed to be saying. It bore him endlessly, but it was necessary to be enrolled in the insei programme, yes? "Kawai-san is the most skilled regular aside from me at the salon. Kawai-san was only a fourth of the number of boards I was playing at that time. I had to brush up my skills or I may never enter the insei league."

"You played forced-ties on four boards?"

"Yes. It wasn't easy, but necessary. I had managed ties on all four." His voice carried a suppressed strain.

This boy certainly was an amusement park on his own. The insei master remembered he had never attempted forced-ties before he turned pro, and even then, he had to take quite some time to adjust and proceed to playing two games and up. The boy talked of the games as if they were nothing, and it had made his lack of understanding of the Go world even more apparent. Imagine what would happen if forcing-ties on four boards was a requirement for the insei!

"So," the boy trailed off nervously, his fists clenched tightly around the fabric of his pants, "did I pass?"

"Get your mother in here. Classes will begin end of this month. We will inform you of the date by post." There wasn't really any need for the man to drag out this suspense any longer. He could see that the boy was dying to know if he had successfully been accepted into the insei.

It wasn't until the boy had long left the Institute that the insei master started thinking of how the other insei would react to such a great player if he were the same age as them and thought so lowly of himself.

**

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Another ending. I'm not too satisfied with how long I dragged this out. Maybe I should really plan out a strict schedule and adhere to it daily, like day 1: finish writing about forced ties. Day 2: start on game with Isumi. Day 3:…. You get the idea.

**crystal starlight: sadly, I am not skilled in Go, though it would be fun to be. It'll probably give me more insight on how the game is played and the feelings and emotions of the players, how nervous they can get (okay, I get enough of this playing the program I downloaded a while back, sweaty palms is nothing new to me…). I'm only 18-kyu at most, but somehow lucked out and managed to get past the 16-kyu in the program on my first try. XD Must be luck…definitely. Has to be. I was stuck at 17-kyu for so long…**

**Whimsy: NUS? Haven't been there. I'm still a while away, but not too far, yes? But I don't actually see what's the fuss about going to a University when we can just stop at Junior College or Polytechnic, but there's no way I'm dropping out of Secondary school…oops. Did I just let out my age group?**

**terriestal-angell: Lol. Never expected another Singaporean. XD I tend to use a lot of pauses in my speech so maybe it carried into here, but due to my style of speech the pauses never really sounded out of place. Anyway, I worked hard on this chapter so I hope the parenthesis would be better. And, erm, what's footnoting? I don't have a mind for remembering phrases and vocabulary…**

**To everyone else: Yays! I can't believe you actually like this story enough to support and review! I really need some motivation to get me going. Goodness knows how long this story might drag until…years? I wonder if my obsession with Hikaru no Go would last that long…(oh no…)**

**Anyway, I was wondering if any of you noticed Hikaru's sudden speech change at the end…goodness! What strange things have dabbled with my mind while I read that Fullmetal Alchemist fan fiction about Edward being a girl due to an alchemic reaction gone wrong and she and Roy falling in love with each other? I had taken a leave of writing this for a while to read that fan fiction and look how I turned out! Missing my Friday deadline and ruining Hikaru's speech pattern…no…**


	8. Insei

**Chapter 8 would be something some of you may totally despise for Hikaru may take a particular action on here. It should be reminded that you keep Hikaru's strange hatred for winning and shy nature in this story in mind so as to allow the story to flow smoothly in your head and not suddenly change paths like a cowboy riding to the end of a cliff which appeared to be as a flatland due to hallucinations.**

**Don't kill, murder, or even attempt it, if the story doesn't go according to how you wish it (for example, Hikaru barges into the insei and stuns them with spectacular games, causing Isumi and Waya to be so totally in awe of him and hail him as a god etc.). This is really bad news for those who want that kind of plot. I promise that everyone will find out about his play eventually, but eventually doesn't come for a few more 'Two Sides to a Face…or More' years. Sorry XP.**

**I've actually got the main gist of the whole story planned out (I've listed events in chronological order in a notepad document to keep track) but the gist may change according to reviews though the ending won't. And the ending won't come till over a few dozen chapters are done…oh someone kill me (no, don't, you'll be charged of murder). Goodness knows how terrible I am with committing myself to something.**

**This chapter is BORING. Sorry if it makes you want to drift off into La-la land…and sorry again for the ultra-late postings.**

**Anyway, brace yourself. No flames for this chapter (I've got to say this or else dissatisfied readers will want my blood warm and my heart beating…).**

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Two Sides to a Face…or More

**Chapter 8: Insei**

_Sai, I don't think I can do this._ Hikaru gulped silently. Insei. He was an insei. He had sat there dumbly on the cushion for a minute or two after the revelation of being accepted into the program, finding it hard to believe he had actually passed. The owner did say that he had gained enough strength, but Hikaru had brushed it off as flowery encouraging language.

Sai patted Hikaru's head with a ghostly hand. _It's okay. Like always, do your best._

"And if my best isn't enough?" Hikaru uttered darkly, air of pessimism threatening to suffocate him.

At that moment, Sai was sure that no one else could emit an aura as heavy and depressing (and at moments too strange) as Hikaru could. He hadn't even attended one of the insei sessions yet! How could anyone who hasn't yet experienced something feel so gloomy about it? Shaking his head in a resigning fashion, Sai followed Hikaru through the glass doors, literally.

It wasn't obvious that the insei were chatting about him but Hikaru heard them anyway and it made him uncomfortable. Of all the things under the sun to talk about, it had to be him. Sai could practically feel Hikaru tensing up beside him under the scrutiny of so many pairs of eyes. _Hikaru, who are you playing first today?_ It wasn't much but Sai knew he had to keep the boy's mind away from the insei. It wouldn't do good to have him screw up his first game. First impressions are important.

_First game? It's with a person called Yukihara Minako._ While the question did change the course of his thoughts, it did no help for his quickly reddening cheeks. It did nothing to divert his attention from the insei. Perhaps he should strike up a conversation about ramen instead. It made him more comfortable than all the unwanted (and of course unappreciated) attention.

A hushed silence rippled across the room from where Hikaru had entered. _Does this happen all the time, Sai?_

Sai cocked an elegantly drawn eyebrow. _How should I know? I'm a thousand years out of date…perhaps only a hundred and forty, but I doubt they had insei in Torajirou's time._ The children ranging from mere kids to fully mature teenagers were frozen in their stances, some seated before a Go board, others appearing to simply mime chatting while walking and the rest approaching the cushions before the laid out Go boards._ Hey, Hikaru, I think you're supposed to find your opponent and get a seat._

_Huh? Right._ "Um, excuse me, who's Yukihara Minako?" the boy took it upon himself to enquire to the whole room.

"That would be me." A girl about a year or two older than Hikaru stepped forward, a hand at her chest to indicate she was pointing to herself. She did a quick head to toe assessment of Hikaru and proposed when the boy didn't seem capable of coherent speech, "Let's settle at a Go board. The games will begin soon."

Swallowing, Hikaru nodded and allowed himself to be guided through the labyrinth of people to an unoccupied set of cushions and Go board. There wasn't time for him to settle down before the insei master appeared at the doorway and placed himself at the lone cushion at the front of the room and declared loudly, "We have a new insei with us today. His name is Shindou Hikaru. Please treat him well." With barely a pause between, he continued, "You can begin your games now."

A light dusting of murmurs evaporated up in the room. "Please."

"Please," Hikaru muttered in return. He uncovered the stones by his side to discover a treasure trove of white. "Do we choose for colour?"

The girl frowned slightly. "I usually don't. We just take whatever's on our side of the board so we can proceed on to the game more quickly. The second class only has half an hour for each game," she answered informatively, setting a black stone down gracefully, to which Hikaru replied almost immediately across the board.

"Second class? There's more than one class?" Incredulity was inked all over Hikaru's face. Why did the insei require classes? Wasn't it just a strict routine like 'play, discuss, eat, play, discuss, play, break, discuss' and such?

"Yes, there are two classes. The first class is behind you."

Hikaru stole a peak. The class appeared to consist of a strange mix of punks, nerds, and stuck-up pricks. Of course, there were a few more decent ones, but most of them were downright strange. He found himself entranced by the sight of so many pre-adults snapping stones down in erratic rhythms he forgot about his own game.

"Excuse me, we do not have much time. Could we get on to the game please?" Hikaru flipped his head back again with a light swish of his hair, nodding awkwardly with a smile. The girl was just trying to hide the fact that she was positively sizzling beneath that ice cool (melting, more like) skin coloured façade of hers. For a fleeting moment, Hikaru felt embarrassment creep up his neck to lick his cheeks.

The girl planted her first stone and Hikaru's mind started whirling. This was an insei he would be playing, not one of those geezers at Dougenzaka, not Waya or Isumi-san. Come to think of it, Waya didn't look like he was in the second class when Hikaru looked around. Perhaps he was sick, or Hikaru hadn't scanned the room with enough scrutiny.

He balled his left fist up tightly and reached for a stone, the coolness of the white surface drew from him some of his discomfort. Hikaru took a deep breath and placed his first stone. He was going to win this game. He had to.

* * *

Halfway through the game, Hikaru frowned. The girl wasn't good. She wasn't good at all. She was far worse than Waya and Isumi-san had been. Compared to the two, she was just like a green bud beginning to explode into spring. Had he been wrong about Waya and Isumi being one of the lowest among the insei ranks? Hikaru sat back with a slight sigh. The game still had its challenge, but it was a different kind of challenge from what Hikaru had thought it would have been. He expected it to be hard, well, as hard as Waya and Isumi-san, but the game had instead posed another challenge — the challenge to stay awake and not groan in frustration.

The insei were supposed to be a highly ranked group of children in the area of Go but he didn't see anything like it, he didn't feel like this was a gathering of highly skilled individuals, more like a playground with a serious air to it. It was utterly confusing. After long minutes of scrambling around his own mind searching for answers which were never there in the first place, Hikaru made up his mind to ask his opponent about Waya and Isumi-san. Surely, if the insei were good, they would be in the second class right? That would prove some of them to at least be a challenge to Hikaru. Hikaru didn't see how it could be that he surpassed the insei in only four months.

It disappointed him, to say the least, that the game never took a turn for the better and he had to tone himself down to avoid complete massacre. The game went no further than the start of midgame when the girl resigned, trembling in her cushion. Hikaru felt himself cringe at the quiver made obvious all throughout her body. Why didn't winning bring any joy? Why did it hurt so much to see people lose? Why hadn't he seen through her abilities at the start of the game to be able to play a teaching game in time?

"Why are you in the insei?" the girl whispered so softly Hikaru barely caught her voice.

It took a while for him to get a decent answer to roll off his tongue. "For the love of Go. Doesn't everyone here have that in mind?"

"No, I was asking why an individual like you with so well honed skills would be here."

Hikaru had always been trampled on through most of his Go career. He had been smacked into place by Sai, lost sight of victory against Kaga, Tsutsui-san and Mitani, beaten by Touya, suffered defeated at Kishimoto's hands, unable to go over Kawai, lost again to Touya, and almost resigned in the game against the insei master. Winning to anyone outside of Dougenzaka was new to him. It was like being in a foreign land with nothing on him, not even a phone or armed with the native language. "Well honed skills?"

The girl looked stunned. "You could have beaten our top insei without a problem, Shindou-kun."

"Top insei?" This was getting interesting. Perhaps the top insei might pose as a glass wall waiting for him to climb over.

"Yeah. There are two of them. Ochi just joined recently, about half a year ago. He made his way up pretty quickly but no one likes him. He's a narcissist," the girl spat distastefully before resuming. "The other one was our favourite. He's quite shy, not very good with keeping up his confidence level, but he could have passed the Pro Exams last year if not for his nervousness. His name is Isumi Shinichirou but everyone here just calls him Isumi-san. He's like a big brother to us."

Hikaru's blood ran cold. No way. Isumi-san couldn't be the top insei. If he were the top insei, then wouldn't it be easy to walk over the rest of the insei? "I…didn't know."

"I'm sorry?" the girl enquired at his almost inaudible statement.

"Eh? Oh, it's nothing. I just met him a month ago and another insei called Waya almost two months back. I didn't know Isumi-san was an insei, that's all," Hikaru covered up hastily. How could he have guessed Isumi-san was an insei? Didn't Waya tell him that he was in some sort of a competition?

"Waya," the girl repeated in mild recognition. "I know him. Everyone here knows him. He's in the first class too, top sixteen. All the insei practically know each other because the classes are so small but Waya is just…outstanding, literally. We had originally thought the red hair was on purpose but soon found out it was his natural hair colour. Nase," the girl jabbed in the rough direction of the first class, "one of the lower insei in first class, actually pulled out a strand of Waya's so perfectly gelled hair to double check the truth."

Hikaru could only stare. Great. Now he had beaten two insei and top ones to say the least. He felt his innards tie themselves into knots. _Sai, how am I going to deal with this? I'm here to improve but I'm just told I have already surpassed the insei! What do I do now? I don't want to win any of them! I don't want to see them lose because of me!_

The ghost sighed exaggeratedly. _Hikaru, this is part of life. You can't always have it your way. If you can't stand it, play teaching games, like you usually do against all those like Mitani and the old men at Dougenzaka. You can't not play them or skip classes._

An exasperate groan left Hikaru's lips unnoticed by the girl. He pondered on each of his options while gazing unfocusedly at the game displayed over the board. _Do you think playing teaching games on a long term basis will affect my growth? Stunt it or something?_

_I don't know._ Sai said truthfully. _I've been playing teaching games all my life. What do you think?_

_That's not helping much, Sai._

Sai let Hikaru mope around for a bit. Surely, there had to be something that Hikaru would find satisfactory in the possible long string of teaching games on the end. _Sai, will me playing teaching games help the insei improve faster?_

_Yes, of course. That's what a _teaching_ game is for, isn't it?_ Ah naturally, Hikaru just had a way to make other people's life better and not his own. He was simply too selfless. He had to know that there are times when he can be selfish, stingy even. This boy was too much of a people's person, always ready to serve but too flustered up when served by others. But for now, the ghost would stop at there. The boy didn't need anything else to send his brain into another trip to the mirror maze again. As long as he was happy, Sai was contented.

_Good. Then I'll make it a point to play teaching games against all the insei, though I should be mindful of not winning._ Hikaru contemplated silently. It wasn't hard to lose a teaching game, but there were some that were impossible to lose, one of which was the kind that is played against an opponent so terrible that he had no choice but to triumph over no matter how hard he tried to lose. The second type is the kind where the opponent just managed to piss him off during or before a game with a ridiculous challenge that he took to be taunting him.

"Shindou-kun, are you okay?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah, I'm fine," Hikaru answered hastily. It wouldn't do good to have others figure out he could totally trash them even without effort. "I was just wondering about my next opponent."

"But Shindou-kun, you'll have to record the scores first."

What? He had never heard of the term 'record the scores' before. "Record? How do I do that?"

"Really, Shindou-kun, how did you even pass the insei test in the first place if you didn't know how to record scores?" the girl frowned slightly, pressing a palm to her forehead lightly. "Come, I'll show you."

Hikaru obediently trailed after the girl to a low table with sheets of papers, a pen and stamps and their pads laid on it. "The stamping or recording of the scores is only done by the victor. Here. This chop with the outline of a circle here is to mark victory. You write the character for 'middle' if you won by default or if you've played till the last stone, the number of moku you win by.

"The chart on the paper should have your name. Find the box where your name is vertical and your opponent's is horizontal and the spot they intersect. Put the stamp of victory there. Next, look for your opponent's name in the vertical column and yours in the horizontal, and then stamp the stamp of defeat, that's the filled circle, in it."

Hikaru wordlessly took the stamp from the girl's hand and pressed it into the stamp pad, then dabbed it lightly on the corresponding box where his name and the girl's intersected before changing his stamp choice and marked the other corresponding box. He picked up the pen lying at the side of the papers and noted his default win in the empty circle.

He spent a few seconds simply staring at the blotch of ink. Victory felt awful, like someone just stuck a tuning fork in his intestines and twisted them around. Dazed, Hikaru got up and retrieved his backpack, pulling out a fairly crumpled sheet of paper and attempting to (with the least amount of success possible for such a 'feat') flatten it out. He drew a finger along the list of name. His next opponent would be Daikishi Kogorou.

"The new kid's not too shabby. He beat second class' number nine," a loud and boastful voice drifted to Hikaru who perked up at his 'new kid' title. He strained his ears to catch more of the conversation. "We didn't get to see his face, but I'm guessing he must look very nerdy, might be of the same species as Ochi. But isn't it too much of a coincidence? I mean, Shindou Hikaru, for goodness sake. The kid I met at the salon had the same name." From the corner of his eyes, Hikaru could see Waya bending over the short table and pressing something to a sheet of paper.

"Might be. Maybe we could catch a glimpse of him during lunch break, find an unfamiliar face," that sounded a lot like Isumi-san. First class ranked top. Hikaru shuddered and pushed the thought out of his mind. It would not do to have such information hanging around at any time it felt free enough to wander about.

When the two had returned to the area for the first class, Hikaru discretely snuck up to a random boy and tapped him on the shoulder. The boy turned around stiffly and pushed his glasses up his nose. "What do you want?" he asked in a demanding tone.

"I, er, just wanted to know who Daikishi Kogorou is." What a brat. He was short and had bright orange hair capping his scalp like a helmet with glasses matching his hairstyle in nerdiness perched on his scrunched up nose.

"He's a boy with dark brown short cropped hair. I think he's wearing pink today." Hikaru almost threw up his breakfast. Which boy in this day and age wore pink? Neon green, understandable, for it was considered 'punk'. Bright red, no problem. That represented the slightly loose screw of all the new age teens who seemed to have a certain fondness for shows rated M18 and up that were filled with violent gore. Bright blue, fairly okay. Who never dreamt of being free in the sky especially teenagers when they start to feel restricted?

Hikaru made a feeble attempt to smile. "Thanks." The boy stuck out his bottom lip and with a proud expression turned around and sauntered away. Hikaru scratched the back of his head lightly. "I was just asking," he muttered and took his eyes off the retreating figure to scan the room.

* * *

His second and third games went by without a hitch. He had put his all in getting back to teaching game mode so success was guaranteed though by how much was the factor he was trying to figure out. The boy was a terrible player, but when Hikaru compared him to how he was just four months ago he deduced he was no better then. _Are the insei this terrible?_

* * *

"Heh, I won again, Isumi-san," Waya declared bashfully, flexing his biceps in a show of completely unrelated strength in a totally off category.

"And so did I, Waya," Isumi chided the boy whose face melted into a small pout.

Waya crossed his arms in mock fury, "Really, is there a day when I'll win and you don't?"

"Yes there is," Isumi started with a voice that gradually decreased in volume, "that day against Ochi."

"Ah! Sorry, Isumi-san. I didn't mean to bring up that game. It's just a…way of speaking to demonstrate how good you are…" Waya shut his eyes in grimace. What had he done? It had taken so long for Isumi-san to get back to normal (as in no sitting a corner emitting 'emo' waves) and he had just dragged up the memory of that game. That game, the first one Isumi-san lost in two years during his time as an insei.

Reopening his eyes, he found Isumi with his head turned in the opposite direction of him. "It's okay, I'm over that."

"It's not okay, Isumi-san!" Waya suddenly yelled. "It's not okay at all! You've always been sensitive but nothing like this! You'll usually get over it in a day or two but the game against Ochi left you a zombie for more than a week! Tell me, why did you get so worked up over that game? It was nothing special! You looked like you lost even before the game began! Why?" Waya looked to his side to glare at his friend and found nothing a cool draft of air. He stopped walking. "Isumi-san?"

"It's nothing, Waya," came a voice from behind him. "I just wasn't feeling too good."

"Not feeling good my foot," Waya spat as he turned around and started marching toward Isumi to poke him in the chest, "You were supposed to be nervous, not depressed! What happened? You only started giving off that aura that says 'I'm miserable so now is the best time to trounce over me' after that game with that blond kid…wait. What happened while I wasn't around?"

"You would have known had you not drowned my words with your voice that time," Isumi sighed, grabbing Waya's hand lightly and pulling it away from him. "Anyway, you were anxious to see how the new kid did, so let's get going. I'm not going to be able to put up with your antics much longer."

"You are the one who doesn't want to answer my questions!" a rude voice punctured the air making no reference to the latest statement.

Raising an eyebrow, Isumi calmly replied while he tugged his friend toward the record sheets, "And you are the one who didn't listen to me when I tried to explain the situation you so conveniently misinterpreted."

Waya growled a little and found himself right before the stamps. "Fine. Isumi-san, if you don't mind, help me mark my win by resignation against Tsuchigoya. I'm going to check the second class' record sheet." With a slight twist of his arm he jerked it from Isumi's grip and walked haughtily toward the other end of the table. He landed a swift glance toward his friend whom he made out to be diligently marking wins and losses with a yielding sigh. His turned his gaze sharply to the second class' record sheet and almost yelp at the scores.

Impossible! How could he have won the ninth ranked insei of the second class and lose the other three? Waya rubbed his eyes to make sure and when he reopened them everything was the same. The same record tarnished by three black spots. "Is he trying to make a fool of us or what? Losing to ranked twenty-fourth and winning against ranked nine."

So consumed in his frustration was he that he never noticed Isumi approaching him, "Is everything alright?"

"I can't believe someone like him! I mean, for goodness sake! Even by luck he couldn't have won the ninth ranked if he couldn't even get past the twenty-fourth!" the wild-haired boy exclaimed in exasperation. "Look! It even says here he lost to the third ranked by resignation and the twenty-first by seven and a half!"

"Seven? Really?" Isumi questioned doubtfully. It was unheard of to lose to one of the lowest by seven and a half yet triumph over the higher by resignation unless there was some mind manipulation going on which Isumi seriously suspected not to be the case.

A piece of paper was shoved into his face so forcefully he had to turn his head to avoid a full on collision that might have ended with a broken nose. He carefully pried his friend's hand off the back of the sheet and then peeled it off his face cautiously. For a fleeting moment that his eyes left the paper, he saw a flash of yellow gold brisk past him. No one in the insei had bright yellow hair, at least none that he knew of. His heart started thumping faster. If it was who he thought it was, if it was him…a sharp twist of his head almost jolted it out of its socket. He strained his neck before coming to his senses that it would have been much more comfortable to simply turn his whole body so it followed after the eyes soon after.

"Waya," Isumi breathed to his friend, barely audible, and grabbed him by the wrist to pull him along.

"Isumi-san! Where are you going?"

Isumi didn't hear Waya's question, couldn't hear, rather. He was intent on finding out the face behind that mop of black and yellow. The intervals between inhaling started to grow shorter as his footsteps neared his target, and when he was close enough, landed a hand on his shoulder.

He couldn't feel the slight jerk under his palm as the boy stiffened suddenly in shock. "Wha—," he whipped around, eyelids threatening to peel off the white of his eyes.

"You're Shindou?" the panting teen asked.

"Y-yes," the boy replied as soon as the initial shock had worn off and faded into recognition, "Isumi-san."

"Glad you still recognize me," Isumi acknowledged curtly, preferring to be concise. "You…lost against the ranked twenty-first and won against the ninth. How?"

"I…just did?" came the uncertain answer.

"But how? You won our game so why? You could have easily surpassed the second class yet why do you still lose to them?" Demanding was the easiest way to get a reply out of someone, but not everyone, as Isumi was about to learn.

"I just lost. There is no reason to lose unless the game was bad."

The boy could go no further (though Isumi didn't dare suggest the boy would have given away more than he already had) for Waya had so unceremoniously budged into the conversation, "Hold on a minute. I thought you won that game, Isumi-san."

"I didn't. You just wouldn't listen to my side of the story and made up your own," Isumi pointed out.

Grumbling, Waya retreated then a moment later, and before Isumi stood a cowering new insei looking almost fearfully at the monster bending over him.

"So, Shindou, if you won over Isumi-san, how did you get stuck at the bottom of second class?"

"I, uh, luck, maybe?" he suggested uncomfortably. Waya was appearing to be scanning him from head to toe, dissecting each and every brain cell of his and using his special 'X-Ray' eyes to peer at his hand which Hikaru quickly shoved behind him to avoid further scrutiny. Did he even know standard etiquette?

Giving a frustrated growl, Waya snorted in utter disbelief, "Don't give me that nonsense. Isumi-san's skill is well above second class. You couldn't beat him by luck even if you wanted to so long as you're stuck at the bottom of second class. Spill."

"Not spilling," Hikaru shut his eyes to draw an air of stuck-up pride to him as he quickly folded his arms in defiance. He could at least have asked nicely.

"Ugh you—!"

"Enough!"

It was the understatement of the millennium to say that Waya had been taken aback. He literally fell to the floor at Isumi's outburst gawking like an idiot for the world to see. "I didn't know the volume of your voice could reach above the screamo band we chanced upon yesterday!"

Isumi fingered the collar of his shirt uncomfortably. "It was getting a little too…hot-headed." He turned his head to face Hikaru, "So as an apology Waya will treat you to lunch."

The youngest of the three immediately perked up, promptly yelling brightly, "Ramen!" while the boy beside him sputtered indignantly.

"Hey! I never said I was going to pay for anything!" Waya then turned to Hikaru and glared at him menacingly with a convincing air of furious static crackling around him, "If I'm eating anything, it's going to be sushi. Nothing beats sushi. Don't tag along if you don't like sushi."

Hikaru pouted, then grinned, "Will you pay if I go with you for sushi?"

Waya fumed at the ridicule of his words but before he could do anything to protest Isumi had already stepped in front of him and put a hand to his mouth to silence him in what seemed to be a futile attempt to be the peacemaker in the fight, "I'm sure Waya will fork out the money. Now why don't we try to get along?"

Reluctantly, Waya retreated from the squabble with a dissatisfied scowl on his face, hissing furiously at Hikaru.

* * *

Lunch found Waya beginning to see Shindou as more of a friend. He was light-hearted, easy-going and extremely open when he wanted too, but it was probably the food that stimulated his vocal chords and his urge to fill the air with unnecessary chatter. Laughter followed Shindou everywhere like a contagious disease that was impossible to fight off no matter what bitter medicine Waya fed into him. 'Friends' was a loose and vague term but Waya could see a friendship coming to be. While Isumi-san actually brought some joy into Waya's life outside of Go, Shindou was fun too, but in a different way. Isumi-san was mature, very much so and he didn't understand Waya's simple teenage boy love for arcade and anything big, ugly and bulky, like one of those monster trucks out there. Shindou provided a welcomed change from the usual talk about boring adult stuff, take politics for example.

Waya learnt many things about Shindou, like the fact that he was in the insei because a friend told him he had to get better to match up to Touya Akira who was, quite apparently, his goal. He also learnt that Shindou Hikaru had only played for a year. A miscellaneous thing that remained in his mind was the fact that Shindou would eat ramen every day, anytime, anywhere. He had finally found a Go player with a decent interest in arcade games. Ochi was snobbish. He was short, stuck-up, annoying, ambitious, and most insufferable. Touya Akira ranked almost as bad as Ochi and probably didn't even know what a gameboy was. Isumi-san…well, he had confidence issue (of course, at this point, Waya doesn't know anything about Hikaru faking everything). Fuku was too happy, never stopped smiling and was always out of touch with reality. The kid couldn't even feel depressed if he was to play Touya Akira in the first round for the Young Lions Tournament!

He bade Shindou goodbye when they parted ways to their respective classes.

A decent friend wallowing in misery at the bottom of second class was better than none.

* * *

Hikaru grasped his bag strap and put on his shoes before walking out to meet Waya and Isumi-san.

"How were your later games?" Waya inquired curiously.

Hikaru fought to force his face into a grimace, "Horrible, lost them too."

_Liar._ Sai said.

Hikaru yelled silently at Sai when Waya and Isumi-san turned their backs to lead the way to the station. _What, you expect me to tell them I've been purposely suppressing myself to prevent a win? They'd think I'm nuts!_

_But you've always like honesty_, Sai shrugged.

_Not when it comes with winning._ Hikaru groaned. He knew he was strange, he knew people should be happy when they won, but he couldn't bring himself to smile whenever he saw the faces of those who have lost. It didn't feel right to be rejoicing over somebody else's loss even if it meant his victory. He loved Go, he loved playing Go, he loved the thrill of it, and yet it was hard for him to play seriously against an opponent.

**

* * *

**

This is pretty abrupt an ending, rushed, if you'd like that word. Sorry I couldn't make an extra long chapter to make up for the lack of updates. The next instalment, or whatever you call it, could take a while. I'll try to take less than three weeks to get it up. I know this chapter is really short (I'm back from my long exile and trying to get used to writing fictions all over again) and fairly lacking in activity but I hope the next one can make up for this. Chapter 8 is about 1,300 words shorter than chapter 7! I'm not sure if the next is going to be long but I intend to include Akira in it. Might be a little interesting if I am able to grasp what they'd be doing and their emotions and all about it.

**It's the exam period so I can't spend so much time on fan fictions. Pardon my horrid updating and such. I'm very flustered over this round of examinations. I've failed more than half of my last ones so I'm pressured to do much better this time. If I do really badly…well, the worst that can happen is that I'll get my computer access taken away from me.**

**Also, I kind of need help. I've got to figure out how to make Sai play a bigger role in Hikaru's rapid growth or contribute to the plot somehow. Sai is currently very excluded. Any ideas? Perhaps something to help Hikaru in his improvement and direct him to some Go breakthrough or the likes. I'm out of ideas.**

**Um, yeah, and a repeat of before, please don't kill me for making Hikaru so reluctant to exploit his own potential, let alone know of it. He just has very little self-confidence, very much worse than Isumi, to say the least. Just because he knows he is above the insei doesn't make him very confident of his skills. He's simply afraid others would shun him for being so weird. He's pretty pessimistic.**

**crystal starlight: **Um, it's against a computer, but there are websites where you can go to play against people all over the world (provided, that is, that they have computer and internet access). You can find these stuff online when you just search for them. Keywords are…well, common sense.


	9. Alternatives

**Rushed. Hope you won't miss it.**

**Reading other fan fictions in my free time (which I admit guiltily that should have been spent on this and subsequent chapters instead) has awakened me to how unappreciative of the support all reviews offered have been. I have seen many authors going out of their way to list down the reviewers and it looks like a long and extremely arduous task for a person with my degree of integration to the world of sloth. The fact that others have named those that helped them, however, was unable to 'overpower', so to speak, my lazy side and thus I apologize with great sincerity if I am unable (or unwilling) to provide some sort of recognition or acknowledgement.**

**And I should note that while learning of the failure of one of the subjects I have failed all the while should not affect me too much, it has done so, and I fear for my future. If anything seems a bit off with this chapter I suppose I should take responsibility for it but honestly, it isn't my fault I simply am so inept with languages! Who would have known my abstract interpretation and representation of the question would have gotten me into so much…trouble. The way I delivered it should have warranted me a passing grade at least in the area 'usage of the language' but that only makes up half of the total score and with the marks allocated for content…isn't language supposed to be free to one's own interpretation? That's supposed to allow room for our creativity to grow and explore, isn't it? I rather think my country's education system is a little inadequate. I hear whispers about developing a child's ability to think innovatively but the way they grade the students seem to speak otherwise. I am not here to broadcast my genius but I am from a rather good school and I shudder to think what would happen to the rest of the nation if they followed in its footsteps, though maybe I was really writing a bit out of point, but honestly, they should have called me out to clarify it first, not that I don't already suspect they didn't want to go through the trouble and hassle of it all. A red mark on my report card would look really pretty, don't you agree?**

**I end my rant here, if you have even bothered to read through it in the first place.**

**++It's okay to let others think you are hopeless. Just make sure to leave with a bang and show them how wrong they are. It's worse when you don't meet their expectations.++**

**(I did not check through this for spelling errors to please try to ignore any that you may notice.)**

**Two Sides to a Face…or More**

**Chapter 9: Alternatives**

Hikaru slumped on his bed. Playing the insei was tiring. He wanted to play seriously against someone other than Sai, but the cruel world just wouldn't let him. He had, in the past few weeks, played teaching games after teaching games pausing in between at night to lose badly to Sai. So as to lower the suspicions of Waya and Isumi-san (of what, Hikaru knew not), he made sure to throw in a few 'hard-earned' victories against the lower few of the second class.

Teaching games were fun, but everything had to be done in moderation! First the salon, then the insei (which Hikaru found unexpectedly disappointing), what else could there be? He felt a nudge in his side. Tilting his head he saw the ghost elbowing him gently. "Sai?"

Sai was feeling left out, and pretty sorry for himself too. Now that Hikaru was an insei, his days were filled up by games against other kids and his games with Sai were shuffled about whenever he felt like playing. Or when HIkaru totally ignored him and fell on the bed's loving embrace, exhausted after a day's worth of (possibly useless) game play.

Hikaru's mind was brilliant, perhaps more so than Sai's own, but teaching games do not help one attune him or herself to real battle over the board. He needed to learn to dwell in the tense, almost threatening, atmosphere of a real game when the players put a lot on the line. He needed to overcome stress and play well even then. These were things that can't simply be learnt by sheer determination and endless teaching games alone. They required experience. And a rival.

_Touya is waiting for you at his salon, you know?_

"Touya?" Hikaru's eyes sparkled ever so slightly. Of course! How could he have forgotten? Almost half a year ago they played a game and Touya said he would still be waiting, and would continue sitting and collecting dust until Hikaru showed up to help him exercise his rusty fingers. Then his eyes dulled, "You think Touya still wants to play me? What if he got so good I can't even do anything?"

_Hikaru!_Sai whined. On top of being a total novice when it comes to self-confidence the kid just had to ruin everything (and what little confidence he had left, assuming he had any) by presuming everyone had suddenly experienced an exponential growth spurt in their Go abilities. _Give yourself some credit! Do you think anyone who just decides to play Go any random day can become an insei in a year and a quarter? Hikaru, you are an exceptional player but you degrade yourself. This doesn't help you get any better at Go. It makes you worse. It stunts your growth when you refuse to challenge the limits of your capabilities and coerce them to expand._

"Sai, people are hurt when they lose. People don't just lose a game and forget about it altogether. They berate themselves, asking, why did they lose? What could they have done? And after they've done that they start reprimanding themselves for not seeing the way out sooner. It hurts both them and me. I can't stand to see people in that state! Surely, Sai, you must know how it feels like!"

_I know better than you do what comes out of victory. You experience inexplicable joy and euphoria by achieving and reaching a pinnacle. It brings a smile to your face to know all your hard work's paid off. What do you think, Hikaru, when you've won a game, then find out your opponent wasn't taking you seriously? Would you feel proud of yourself?_

Hikaru shook his head slowly, guilt welling up from within as the (not so subtle) hints Sai dropped merged together to form a huge picture. He started slow, "So you are saying that me not playing them at my fullest is not being respectful to them?"

_Exactly!_ Sai looked like he had tasted ramen (in Hikaru's subjective opinion, of course) with a touch of pride. _You're becoming smart, Hikaru!_ Sai raised his ghostly pale hand to pat Hikaru's head with what appeared to be pride.

"Hey! I've always been smart!" The boy swatted at Sai's sleeve yet causing no visible change to the stilled temporal boundaries of the ghost.

Sai chuckled briefly before moving on to a different subject matter altogether. _Tomorrow is fine, right? The insei do not have classes then. I think Touya will be happy to see you._

Hikaru's mood darkened for a moment. The prospect of meeting Touya again felt positively jelly-legged. What if he made a fool of himself?

_SELF-CONFIDENCE!_

Hikaru grinned sheepishly and said, "I'll try to remember that first thing tomorrow." He paused, then added, "And the rest of it as well."

He could almost hear the groaning of his bones as he tried futilely to ignore Sai's yells for him to hurry up by running about. That tactic never worked, but hey, it was a great way to warm up. He had his backpack on his shoulders and was jogging, sprinting, actually, his way to the nearest station.

_It's lunch time! Touya may be out of the salon eating! Hurry!_

"It's lunch time! _I_ should be out eating too!" Hikaru hated to admit it but meeting Touya was making him nervous. He had so many doubts about himself he'd be surprised if he could even manage a decent opening without throwing up. He didn't know what it was about Touya but his mad Go skills just made him feel so inferior. For goodness sake, Hikaru couldn't even think of him without shuddering!

He pressed his hand to his chest to find his palm wet. Slowly unclenching his fist, he found it in a state where it looked like it had just went swimming, came back, had a shower, and went swimming again. It was awfully wet. He hastily rubbed his palm on his shirt and checked his other hand. How did Touya do this anyway? It was like he had some sort of demonic power that seized control of anyone Go-literate who thought about him!

Had Sai not yelled into his ear Hikaru would probably still be on the platform staring at his palm. Hikaru forced his mind to empty itself; no doubt an impossible task for him but it didn't hurt to try. When he found it utterly useless (as he should have had about half an hour ago when he started) he tried focusing his thoughts on ramen. As always, ramen was the key to success. Well, Hikaru's, anyway.

It was quite a surprise for Sai when Hikaru got off at the right stop, what with all that distant expression on his face. The ghost wondered for a brief moment if Hikaru was actually paying to attention to things that happened around him or if the reaction was merely him on auto-drive. He decided that it was simply a lucky chance that the boy stepped off the train when he ignored the salon and continued to walk straight ahead.

Some yelling and bleary eyes later, Hikaru stood in front of the salon that Touya was (or might just be) in. He gulped and threw the door open.

The salon was near silent, the still air punctuated only by the occasional 'pachi' of Go stones hitting their respective boards. Hikaru stood stock still at the doorway until Sai nudged him in. The boy turned to the receptionist and whispered almost inaudibly, "Is Touya Akira here?"

"Akira-kun?" she asked, now looking extremely alert. "Are you his friend?"

Hikaru felt himself grimace at her reaction to his question, "Not exactly."

She gazed down in what seemed to be a disappointment, murmuring to herself something incoherent that Hikaru could probably make out if he tried. The receptionist regained her original festive cheer and told him, "Akira-kun's in the corner at the far end of the room. You can see him from here."

He thanked her and headed for Touya, fidgeting a little more with each step he took. When he was barely a foot from Touya the green haired boy still hadn't looked up. Hikaru assumed he was too caught up in whatever he was doing and therefore didn't notice him. He opened his mouth to call him but found that no words could get past his lips. He tried again, this time succeeding in producing a raspy call, "Touya."

Touya met his eyes almost immediately, not wasting a second to acknowledge Hikaru upon recognition, "Shindou."

Hikaru gulped, "Er, can we play?" Sai let his head flop into his open hands.

Touya blinked and opened his mouth as if to say something, then closed it after a while. He gestured at the seat across him. Hikaru set his bag down at the foot of the table and warily took a seat in the chair. The silence that encompassed them was most uncomfortable, and just as Hikaru was about to say something to lessen the tension, Touya spoke, "I was expecting you."

Something rang loud in Hikaru's ears. "What?"

"I said I was expecting you. The ability you displayed during our last game was more than enough for you to have come in the next day."

"What?" Was that a compliment? Did the great almighty Touya Akira just compliment him?

"Is your vocabulary that limited?"

Hikaru flushed immediately when he realized how…idiotic he had been behaving. Touya must have been getting annoyed by him. One look at the other boy told him otherwise. Of course, Touya Akira was slow to anger, and any other emotion. He was simply being blunt, but nevertheless, Hikaru felt the need to apologize, so apologize he did. "Sorry."

"What?"

Amusement somehow found its way to Hikaru, who chuckled good naturedly at Touya's reply. He threw back the words, "Is your vocabulary that limited?"

It was refreshing to see Touya actually blush. And it wasn't just blushing alone that conveyed his embarrassment. His head was tilted slightly to the side and as far as Hikaru could tell, he was attempting to use his hair to shield his face.

"It's okay," Hikaru said, and was awarded by a coy glance at him from the corner of Touya's eyes. Hikaru sat in his chair, stunned for a moment. Was Touya this shy the last time they had met? He always thought the Go prodigy was more on the side of overly ignorant to worldly relations that he was more often than not appeared to be insensitive. "I just thought we could play today. I understand if you want to go out for lunch first so…" He left the sentence trailing off, hoping Touya would somehow read his mind and complete it for him.

"Go comes first. Besides, Ichikawa-san would be more than glad to provide us some simple snacks until we have time for more substantial comestibles."

Hikaru stared at him, "Can you translate that to Japanese? Not everybody has such 'unlimited vocabulary', you know."

Touya bowed his head and bit his lip before speaking up to clear up the confusion, "Ichikawa-san," he gestured at the receptionist, "can provide us some snacks while we play. We can go for lunch later."

"That's better. Now, what say you that we clear this board and start a game of our own? The first in six months! Imagine! I'm so excited to begin!" All of Hikaru's worries that Touya may not be affable with him began to evaporate and his anticipation was starting to wash through and override his other emotions.

Akira hid an amused smile behind his waterfall of hair. Lunch could definitely wait.

Akira began to ritually assess Shindou's game play. Well, he attempted to, rather. The other boy would play a few hands, lead Akira to believe he was about to launch an ambush, got him ready for it, then suddenly decided that he didn't want to play there anymore and looked about the board to find another nice chunk of black stones to try surrounding only to leave them alone after a few moves. It was as if he was playing some juvenile game of hide-and-seek. He dodged whenever Akira drew close to disrupting his plans only to cheekily attack an unsuspecting group.

Akira didn't know whether to place him on a throne to hail his superior ability in devising plans quickly or trample him over and yell at him to continue to fight it like the man Akira never knew he was. He decided to do both.

One could tell after a game or two with the boy that he was absolutely unpredictable. It didn't take a pro to figure that out. The yet more intriguing part of his play was how brilliant yet stupid the whole game turned out to be.

Before meeting Shindou Akira sorted games into categories which he slated down a few criteria for and adhered to them strictly, never believing there to be an exception. There were the good players, mediocre players and bad players (which Akira hoped never to come across often). His father had commented a few times that those were not enough and Akira didn't see why not.

That is, until Shindou walked into his life looking as if he's never played Go before (and he probably hadn't, goodness knows why he's so good).

It was frustrating, really, not knowing where to sort the games with Shindou. He tried putting it under 'good players' but it didn't quite seem to want to go there. He then inched it toward 'bad players' and it almost flew out of his hand in an attempt to get away from such a derogatory term. He never dared place it with the rest of the mediocre standards. Shindou was far too different and his games too captivating for that. Even Yun-sensei admitted it albeit not vocally.

Akira felt his eyes narrow in concentration when Shindou began poking at the edges of another cluster. What was he playing at? With this kind of sketchy play he should have been down in a few minutes.

Then something dawned upon Akira. If he should have been down in a few minutes, why was he still playing? Better yet, why was this game still so…even? This puzzled him greatly, not to mention it nagged at him in a disturbing fashion that something wasn't quite as it seemed, that the game wasn't as thoughtless as he imagined it to be.

Who was he kidding? This was Shindou, the very person who always revealed nothing but the tip of the ice-berg! Akira slapped himself around in his mind. He had told himself never to underestimate the boy again but here he was, allowing the boy to carry his disjointed play so far into the game when he was supposed to be dead already. He resisted the urge to grunt in frustration (which would have been a very funny sight indeed if the situation weren't so awkward already).

Akira fumbled through his usually swift motions of picking up a stone but earned not a single strange look from Shindou. Against his own head yelling for him to get back to the game, he glanced up. Shindou had a look of fierce concentration on his face and was (or seemed to be) utterly oblivious to the startled look from his opponent. Akira hastily returned his eyes to the game, but he knew he had already lost.

His father always said that losing your concentration in a game was the start of an almost inevitable loss but Akira knew that that wasn't to be the cause of his predicted failure. The answer lay in Shindou's eyes. They were blazing with something Akira had seen in only the most ancient of the pros (take Kuwabara Hon'inbo for example, the man probably fed off the misery of others to keep his thousand year old body animated) and he felt himself beginning to envy Shindou.

That fire in his eyes was so intense Akira could feel the passion rolling off in waves, and Akira also knew that when Shindou set his eyes on something, he wouldn't lose sight of it until he had it done. Right now he was intent on winning, and the calculating look in the eyes that shone so brightly yet at the same time took in every single detail of nothing but the board told him enough.

But Akira kept on playing.

He didn't like to lose, but the prospect of being able to see a plan by a brilliant mind unfold before his very eyes drew in him like moths to a fire, and boy was the fire bright. He couldn't understand why Shindou's play was so detached from the rest of the game and how it was going to bring him victory, but he just knew Shindou had a plan, and as always, it was so obscure he wouldn't uncover it until the last second when it was too late.

There was an unmistakable tension and exertion within the other boy, but Shindou's eyes didn't tell the story of a person struggling with effort to keep up, but the tale of a genius with so much determination it cancelled out every other obstacle he had to face.

And for that and that alone, Akira took the game and placed it on top of all his shelves of categorized games; unclassified and above them all.

Akira looked about the board. What was Shindou doing? Akira knew he had a plan, but when did that kick in? The board was practically cluttered up with various (unsuccessful) attempts on Akira's own territory but Shindou apparently felt he hadn't waited long enough and continued ruining the outcome of the game (which was getting unbelievably bleak for him).

One group of stones in particular looked a little weird. The surrounding white stones didn't look remotely like they were attempting to consume it. Instead, it felt as if they were simply there for decoration, but knowing Shindou, there had to be something behind it.

If only Akira could figure what that something was. He felt like he was missing out on something, that he wasn't getting the whole picture…the big picture…

Eyes widening in sudden shock and realization, Akira moved his attention from each scuffle to the game in general and almost groaned at his current predicament. He was dead and absolutely finished. Why hadn't he seen it earlier? He had been so focused on winning every small and now seemingly insignificant battle that he lost sight of his whole troop. His engagement in what he thought would amount to the end result perfectly made him unaware that this was a war he was fighting, not just battles of it.

He had ignored the game he was supposed to be trying to win in favour of miniscule fights.

The patterns of the white stones clashed horribly with the black and what Akira thought was supposed to wipe out a group turned out to be a helping hand in the extinction of another. Why had he been so narrow-minded? Why hadn't he focused on the game on a whole instead of designating roles to each white stone Shindou let fall on the board?

Akira's lips thinned to a line. There was no way he could get out of this suicide he had brought upon himself. White was in the perfect position to reduce his stones to a dangerously low count and Akira had no choice but to submit to defeat.

He stiffly bowed his head. "I have lost."

Defeat was bitter, Akira admitted. His lips then twisted into a smile. But it felt good losing at the hands of a superior player and knowing that he had learnt something from the game.

From what Akira gathered, Shindou Hikaru never knew walking existed. He just ran from the very moment he found out he had legs.

The greatest thing about Shindou's sprint was that he always left a bit of him behind to imbed into others the lesson of humility no matter how unintentional. For Akira, he taught him that oversight was his flaw, and that he should never walk into a battlefield blindfolded by his own faith in his abilities.

You never know what might surprise you.

To Akira, everyone had their own flaws, and Shindou had just revealed one of Akira's own in the recently concluded game. Shindou's game, however, was as spotless as blood was red, and the only perceivable error Akira could note was the fact that Shindou was absolutely ignorant of his skill. All he lacked to make it to the top was the experience and perhaps determination. That could be safely derived from the strange look Akira was getting as if to say 'what do you mean you've lost?'

Akira did a quick sweep of his surroundings and, after assuring himself that no one was looking, quickly snapped his fingers right in front of Shindou who looked like he was staring into nowhere. Shindou blinked and shook his head like a wet dog before returning to staring, this time at Akira, "Touya."

"Yes, I know that's my name."

Shindou blinked a few more times, as if a spoiled television replaying a Go move over and over again, then everything flooded back into him and he went on fast forward. Flustered, Shindou exclaimed, "Why'd you say you've lost?"

"Because I did," Akira stated plainly, as if it were obvious (and it was, really).

"But you could have won!" Shindou exclaimed, surprised etched on his face.

Akira only stared at him, "I couldn't. You have cut me off from each of my groups."

"But if you went here," Shindou reached out to grab a few of Akira's black stones in his fist, then took one out and placed in on the board, "I will be forced to go here to defend the larger group," Shindou plucked a white stone from his container to set it beside the black one he had placed, "and then you are free to gobble up the smaller group to your left." Here, Shindou started assigning intersections to stones of alternating colours in a haphazard fashion which Akira could barely keep track of. After a whole flurry of seemingly stupid hands, Shindou scooped up a chunk of white stones victoriously and said, "And here you have your exit."

Akira didn't say anything and contemplated on the recent maneuvers made by Shindou. It was ingenious, in a way that simply screamed that Shindou could read deeply. "You can become a pro, you know," Akira said. There wasn't really anything else that could have passed between them without causing another new load of awkwardness.

"Pro? Why do I want to be a pro?" Shindou asked, a little bewildered, "And why do you think I can be a pro?"

"For one, you just defeated me."

Cocking his head to the side, Shindou's eyebrows creased as he queried, "What defeat?"

"The game we just played," Akira said, growing exasperated.

"You didn't lose, and I'm an insei," Shindou said in reply.

"I just lost, Shindou. I resigned," Akria sighed, then suddenly exclaimed, "Insei? What are you doing as an insei? You're way above them!"

Shindou grinned sheepishly, "I…er…thought the insei were better."

"Are you pulling out of the program then? Are the insei afraid of your skill?"

"Afraid? Are you mad? Why would they be afraid? I'm not that good, you apparently didn't play at your full strength just now so I won, and, uh, I've been playing teaching games with them," Shindou answered in a voice a tad too loud. "I plan on pulling out soon. It's a bit tiring to be playing teaching games all the time and I don't think they'll appreciate it if I suddenly lose control and wipe the board clean of their stones. I'm one of the last in class two, by the way."

Akira didn't know how to respond, a really inconceivable idea considering how many interviews he's had in his pro career. "Shindou," Akira finally said, causing Shindou to snap his attention to him, "I was playing my best, really. I knew you would be a tough opponent to face so I really went all out. You were great, Shindou. You could be in the higher-dan soon."

Shindou sputtered. "You think _I_ can be a higher-dan? I'd be dead before the clock even starts!"

"You really can be in the higher-dan," Akira insisted. "I can get my father to play you and he can be the judge of your skill."

"I, er, no thanks," Shindou said, hurriedly packing the white stones.

"Will I see you again?" Akira asked quietly as Shindou heaved his backpack onto his shoulders.

Shindou blinked. "Yes, I think. The insei don't give me much of a challenge that I can get playing you," he said with a shrug, before turning on his heels and heading out the doorway.

Hikaru returned to the salon a week after their recent game, nodding inconspicuously to Ichikawa-san while asking about Touya. The receptionist gestured to a dark corner with a quirk on her lips. Muttering his gratitude quickly Hikaru made his way to the area of the salon with least adequate lighting.

"Touya," Hikaru greeted with a nervous smile.

Touya looked up from the board on which he was recreating a game with mild surprise. "Shindou, I didn't expect you so soon."

Hikaru's grin lost a little of its queasy attitude. "The insei, uh, bore me again." And that was as honest as honest could get. "I was hoping we could have a serious game, if it isn't too much trouble."

He might have been imagining it, but for a moment, Hikaru thought he was flames dancing in Touya's eyes. "I will be going full out this time," Hikaru said, "I want to know where I stand."

Touya seemed to contemplate on his words before asking in a slightly annoyed tone, "You mean to say you weren't performing your best the last time?"

"I'm not used to playing my best with strangers, you see," Hikaru confessed, losing his voice at an astonishing speed. "I'm really affected when I see that people are sad because of something I did."

Akira blinked. This was certainly not what he had been expecting. Sure, he knew Shindou was strong, more so than him, but to think that he wasn't even playing at his best when they last played was a little disturbing. Perhaps he could be more interesting to play against than his father who was too advanced for him, but something was nagging at him and telling him that Shindou wasn't the one he was looking for, that Shindou was going to go much higher than him.

"Take a seat, Shindou. Choose for colour?" Akira asked. Those questions and uneasy feelings can be left for later. First he would play Shindou.

Akira stared at the board where he was being overwhelmed. He recognised that Shindou was stronger than him, but he had thought it was marginal, but the game before him was evidence of their difference in strength.

There wasn't much Akira could do but marvel at the skill and just play for the sake of playing. Shindou wanted to know where he stood, and Akira would tell him that he was above him. He would need another ruler to measure his immense strength. Someone like…Touya Meijin.

"I have lost," Akira whispered, this time more accepting of his defeat.

Shindou glanced up at him in surprise after a minute or two, and in a weak voice echoed Akira, "…lost?"

"You are my superior in the game," Akira stated, "and you have advanced farther than anyone could have imagined during the months that we haven't played."

Shindou looked utterly surprised, "I have?"

Nodding with slight irritation, Akira said, "Yes. And I am considering introducing you to my father's study group."

Shindou was quiet for a moment, then asked, "What's a study group?"

Akira, having expected the clueless reply, explained patiently to the other boy, "A study group generally consists of one mentor, usually a higher-dan, and his students. Activities include reviews and discussion of past games and playing against other members of the group. A student of my father's study group is Ogata 9-dan."

"Ogata?"

"We discussed about him after our game at the tournament one year ago."

"Right." Shindou paused for a moment, chewing on his bottom lip while considering the offer. "I'll attend it."

Akira let a smile flit past his usually nonchalant features. It didn't matter if Shindou was better than him at all. He just wanted someone his age with equal, if not better, skills whom he can compete with. It spurned him to know that someone was so close to him, and his natural desire to be the best he can in Go would drive him to push himself.

Shindou was ideal. Akira was dissatisfied with the way Shindou seemed to be unable to understand the sheer capacity of his potential, and it was this kind of people that Akira simply couldn't bear to lose to. Akira didn't hate Shindou although there were times when his ignorance of his apparent skill got onto his nerves.

There was also the fact that Shindou played teaching games during insei hours and passing them off as his usual game play that frustrated him. Shindou didn't appear to understand the concept of playing one's best in a game to respect his or her opponent which was something Akira strongly believed in.

However, Shindou was Akira's first friend and the only person to look past his cold exterior to reach the still growing child beneath. Everyone assumed that just because Akira was the Meijin's son so he should therefore be a natural at Go and took his stoic expression as a declaration of his superiority. Shindou didn't judge him, although one might argue that this was attributed to the fact that Shindou didn't know who Akira was, or what a Meijin is, for the matter.

Akira respected Shindou as a friend, but as a fellow Go player he found much that was lacking. It was true that Shindou was noticeably better than Akira at Go but with the attitude he had during a game Akira was inclined forbid him from playing. Shindou may love the game but he couldn't grasp the basic concept of respect for the opponent which was one of the major elements of the game.

But no matter how horrendous Shindou's game courtesies were he fascinated Akira. He was someone who appeared out of nowhere and crushed Akira under his skills, then fell back to an amateur and then progressed rapidly until he was once more above Akira himself. Perhaps Akira wanted Shindou to be near to play him and improve, or perhaps his reason was just to unravel the enigma that was Shindou, but either way, Akira would never regret his decision to invite Shindou to the study group.

He hoped.

**FINALLY! I began this chapter middle of last year and dragged it on all the way until today. I have once more found the drive to continue this story, but it is likely that I will begin to include less and less description of game plays as I am definitely running out of ideas. I hope you guys will give me some, if you have any to share.**

**Also, please do note that while the next chapter may not take as long to be uploaded as this one, it will take time as I am busy trying to adapt and start the new school year. I understand that certain countries begin the school year after summer holidays, yes? But here in Singapore we do not have summer holidays. It's summer all year round, see. Our major holidays are in June, the last half of November, and December. You people will understand if I am slow, right?**

**I've figured out that people who have summer holidays will be taking their papers soon. Is it somewhere in March? I hope you will continue to support this story even though exam periods will be beginning soon for some countries. I wonder if anybody out there is already out of University…**

**Anyway, I have arduously racked my brains for ideas to fit into this chapter so please, no flames, okay?**

**By the way, the rant in my Author's Note at the beginning of the chapter was from middle of last year. I can't bring myself to delete that part of my life, but I think you should ignore it, although it's a bit too late…LOL.**


	10. Study Group

**I'm sorry for the incredibly slow update. I haven't been doing well this year for my studies, but I have improved in the year end exams, so I now have time to write this chapter. I'm trying to get back into the mood of writing, so if there are any strange sentence structures, do tell. I'll see what I can do about them.**

**Thanks for all the reviews. =) I'm really happy about them and now I'm once more starting on a new chapter. There is just one thing I find endlessly odd. I got the most reviews for chapter 9 when I've got the least hits for chapter 9. That is just strange. I'd like to think that those reviews are from my 'die-hard fans' who have stuck with the story throughout the long and painful waiting period…or perhaps I'm just getting carried away with my narcissism (which this story's Hikaru is quite lacking in).**

**Can you believe this story has reached chapter 10? I can't. I can't believe that I have the patience to write 10 chapters, I can't believe that I have the ability to press on even though I've lost quite a bit of interest, I can't believe I've actually got 131 reviews for 9 chapters. I can't believe I have more words than I have hits. No, wait, actually, I can believe the last one.f**

**Anyway, this chapter, as its name implies, will cover Hikaru's first visit to Touya Meijin's study group. Seeing as I have not read the series in a long, long while and my interest has kind of dwindled a bit, if you spot any flaws in my use of Japanese/Go terms, please do not hesitate to point them out so I can edit them. Of course, if the flaw encompasses the plot on a whole, just keep it to yourself, okay? I'd really lose my spirit if someone told me, "GO REWRITE YOUR ENTIRE STORY BECAUSE IT JUST DOESN'T WORK OUT THAT WAY!"**

**I'll reply to some of your reviews in the authors' note at the end of this chapter.**

**Oh yes, I also realised that I typed in 'won by default' a few times in chapter 8 when it should have been 'won by resignation'. Hope it didn't cause too much confusion.**

**EDIT: 2 January 2011. Some spelling errors were corrected and sentences added. No major changes to the plot.**

* * *

**Two Sides to a Face…or More**

**Chapter 10: Study Group**

Hikaru shuffled his feet as he waited outside the double wooden doors of the Touya's residence. Standing before such a huge and magnificent traditional house was kind of freaking him out. Certainly, both Touya Meijin and Touya did look like they'd look good in traditional garb but finding out that they lived in a traditional house still came as a bit of a shock, and it was more a mansion than a house! The street in which Hikaru's home was located had modern homes as far as the eye could see.

Clenching and unclenching his fist Hikaru pressed the doorbell and waited for someone to answer it. A woman with sleek black hair answered the door and asked him, "Are you Shindou-kun?"

"Ah, yes," Hikaru replied, stumbling over his words. He didn't understand how he could be so nervous. It was just a gathering of people who so happened to be Go pros, just a gathering of people who meet up to discus about Go, nothing more, nothing less.

_You're afraid because Touya Meijin would be there. Hey, Hikaru, let me play with him, will you? Please, Hikaru!_ Sai pleaded with earnest, the idea of being close to a man with such well-honed Go skills sent excited shivers down his spine.

_You know I can't, Sai, if I do Touya-sensei will think that I have some godly skills which I don't!_

The woman broke into a demure smile and said, "We have been expecting you. Please come in. I'll get Akira to show you to the room."

Hesitating a little, Hikaru took a step into the residence and was overwhelmed by the large quantities of plants in what he supposed was a garden. A stone pathway was laid out from the wooden doors to the house within, and if Hikaru didn't know better, he would have thought the house was being overrun by those leafy green things that just couldn't wait to devour the entire residence whole.

Upon reaching the wooden platform that was the entrance to the house, Hikaru took off his shoes and placed them neatly against a white wall before being greeted by a slightly flushed Touya who looked like he had ran to meet him.

"Shindou, you're early," Touya exclaimed with slight surprise evident in his voice.

"Don't make it sound as if I'm always late," Hikaru scowled, trying to ease off the tension he felt in his muscles. It was _just_ a gathering of people, he repeated to himself, but the uneasy feeling in his stomach would not disappear. He could just feel his legs about to give way under him.

"I'm not implying that. You just look like the kind to get lost very easily," Touya said bluntly, before his eyebrows shot up and he clammed his hands to his mouth, uttering a very inaudible, "Sorry."

Hikaru felt very amused. Did the great and almighty Touya Akira just say something inappropriate? "Hey, Touya, say that again," Hikaru teased with a large smile on his face. Perhaps, if Touya was attending the study group too, then it wouldn't be that bad after all, since Hikaru had a feeling that they would one day be friends so close that Touya would keep any secret for him.

_Hikaru, what about me!_ Sai whined after the pair as they made their way, one laughing and one flustered, to the study group.

* * *

As more people entered the room, Hikaru felt his anxiety increase exponentially until he found himself trembling in his seat.

Sai observed as Hikaru's face morphed from a relaxed expression to one that was tense beyond belief. At first he assumed that this was due to the fact that Hikaru was in the presence of the man who commanded great respect in the Go world but was forced to change his mind when the grimace on Hikaru's face intensified as each member of the study group entered the room, and Ogata was the drop of water that made the cup overflow.

Hikaru's back was stiff as he took in the people gathering in the room. There weren't a lot, but there wasn't a little either, and Hikaru's discomfort only increased when Ogata took a second look at Hikaru and squinted.

"Bleached fringe," Ogata murmured, "Shindou Hikaru?"

Startled, Hikaru turned to Ogata with mouth agape and shouted tactlessly, "Ah! It's you from that time! You dragged me to play with Touya-sensei!"

"Yes, and as I recall you ran out yelling before the game could progress beyond a few opening hands," Ogata replied calmly, taking off his glasses and wiping them before putting them back on, as if to get a better look at Hikaru. "I hope your handling has gotten better."

Hikaru didn't know how to reply without sounding like a whiny child, so he kept quiet, hoping that the burning gaze of Ogata Seiji would leave him as quickly as possible. Ogata didn't look like a man who could put up with children, especially ones that were immature.

Akira, as if sensing Hikaru's discomfort, quickly warned the 9-dan sternly, "Ogata-san!"

Ogata raised an eyebrow at Akira's rather unorthodox reaction. Was this Shindou Hikaru that much of a treasure that even Akira wanted to protect him? Ogata could not deny the incredible potential he saw lying within Shindou ready to be unlocked and exploited, but could it have been that while he was not observing this boy had already released his abilities? He had been hoping to see it as it unfolded, although this was not too bad either. He had been longing to play a game with the Shindou that was to come; having his potential fulfilled earlier was nothing more than an added boost. Calmly, Ogata brought his examination of Shindou to an end and turned to face the Meijin.

He didn't know how he knew but when Ogata's eyes left him Hikaru felt a sudden calmness wash over him, and instead of mulling over how frightening Ogata was he turned to Akira and offered the boy a grateful smile. Akira returned it with a smaller one of his own, and said to him, "Tell me if Ogata-san does that again. He usually doesn't do it intentionally, but it's still just as scary."

"Someone should seal that expression from his face forever," Hikaru muttered to himself, still slightly shaken over what had just transpired.

Having overheard, Akira grinned mildly, "That's his natural expression though; he's always looked like that for as long as I've known him."

"Then someone should do something about his 'natural expression'," Hikaru replied, making inconspicuous air quotes with his hands.

Akira merely shook his head with amusement and nudged Hikaru lightly, "We will be beginning soon. Everyone's here."

"Right," Hikaru said, a little of the previous nervousness coming back. He straightened his back as best as he could, having the impression that the entire Touya study group would be an uptight bunch and any slouching would be severely frowned upon, especially by Ogata 9-dan. That man was the scariest person Hikaru had ever come across. He wouldn't be surprised if little kids had nightmares about this man even if they just met him on the street only once.

_Hikaru! That's not the way to think of your seniors!_ Sai berated loudly. _You should be respecting him for being such a powerful player!_

Hikaru winced inwardly. Respecting that man will be the hardest thing to do, aside from defeating both Sai and Touya-sensei. Speaking of Touya-sensei, the study group was now in session.

* * *

Fujiwara no Sai had never met a man who commanded as much reverence and respect as Touya Kouyo. Even as a ghost, or maybe because he was a ghost, Sai was strongly affected by the incredible aura that surrounded the Meijin. It exuded pure elegance and strength, that of a lone hunter prowling the forests for the best catch with a sharp edge to him that promised no mercy toward his prey. Sai badly wanted to play with this man. He wanted to experience the intensity that a game with this man would promise. He desired to be challenged by this man across the board, to be given a hard time and to be pressured like he had never been before.

This man's aura attracted Sai so much that he would give up his thousand years just for one game. Okay, maybe not just one game, but he would give up his thousand years for a few games with Touya Kouyo. His Go was beautiful and so alluring, a style Sai had never yet seen. Hikaru's games were fantastically played, yes, but none of them spelt the same grace and experience that the Meijin's practically yelled. Sai would wait for Hikaru to nurture his Go if he could, but a hundred and forty years of confinement to the board had made him hungry for a good game.

Touya Kouyo was able to deliver the game. He would be able to satisfy Sai's incredible hunger for a good game. In fact, Sai was willing to bet that he would satisfy him, and then more.

The Meijin was such a lonely man. Sai could tell at one glance that he did not have a rival to play with, no rival to help him grow and to drive him to better his game. There was a strange longing from within Sai that maybe; just maybe, he was the rival whom Touya Kouyo was waiting for. There really wasn't any other person who could match this man in his skills other than Sai himself, but at times Sai questioned his thoughts due to constant reminders that he was, after all, just a ghost.

Sai could not meet him face to face or feel the Meijin's piercing gaze on him should they be able to play a game against each other. Sai could not challenge Touya to a game nor could he discuss with him the games which they may have played. Sometimes, Sai wondered if he had been born in the wrong time. There wasn't anyone else for the Meijin, so why couldn't Sai be there to play him? Every man deserved a rival to argue with and to find faults in his game. Sai didn't have one, neither did the Meijin, so why couldn't they have been born together and be given the opportunity to be each others' rival?

It wasn't fair. Even though Sai was a ghost he could still feel pain and longing, gladness and pleasure, and jealousy was not excluded from the variety of emotions Sai was capable of experiencing. He would admit that he was jealous of Hikaru, very much so. Hikaru had a rival in Touya Akira, and friends in said rival and the insei. Hikaru had a family to support him in times of difficulty, and mentors from whom he could learn. Hikaru had everything Sai wanted and more, things Sai didn't have, things Sai had to watch die, things Sai could only dream of.

But after considering all of these and others, Sai couldn't come to hate Hikaru. Hikaru was the very reason for his current existence, his current chance to once more play Go again. Hikaru was fun to be with, and interesting to watch as his Go grew. Sai thanked whatever power that granted him Hikaru as his host for allowing him to mentor this boy, to be able to take pride in his disciple whose Go had improved beyond even what Sai had expected. Sai could not detest Hikaru for being good at Go, neither could he express abhorrence of Hikaru's fortunate life. He could not do much but be disappointed that he was not given the same opportunity as Hikaru.

Sai watched with lidded eyes as Hikaru listened attentively to what the Meijin was speaking about. Now wasn't the time for self-reflection and contemplation about his misfortune, he should be grateful for being allowed to know Touya Kouyo and to be sitting in the same room as him while he taught others. But Sai couldn't help it.

As he tried to turn his attention back to the Meijin's discussion, he sighed as one thought lingered: _Why wasn't I born to be his rival? If not I, then who?_

* * *

"Hey, Sai," Hikaru muttered under his breath as he trudged down the street, the hot summer sun beating down on his neck. He didn't know what to think about Touya-sensei's study group. It had been an eye opener, that's for sure, but sometimes he felt incredibly out of place. Everyone in the group had had years of experience playing Go, as well as passion to fuel their play. Hikaru felt inferior to them in many ways, although he himself did love Go just about as much. To add to his discomfort, everyone had expressed great surprise when Hikaru solved a problem which the Meijin had set out before any of them did. Hikaru didn't intend to blurt out the answer. He didn't want anybody to judge his abilities yet.

That was not just it. Hikaru also felt frustrated by how everybody kept complimenting his problem solving abilities but were disappointed when it came to his game play. It was not that Hikaru wanted them to be awed by his game, for he had played at half his strength again, but it was Hikaru himself who frustrated him. Hikaru wanted to play his best, he really did. He wanted to show the Meijin how good he was, but something held him back. Was it the fact that he was actually accustomed to playing with restrictions that led to him playing at such a low level? Hikaru saw the critical gaze of Touya-Meijin scrutinise him as he played with Ashiwara, and then identified puzzlement in his eyes when Hikaru lost the game.

_Yes, Hikaru?_ Sai said with a worried expression. Ever since the Meijin launched his first word Hikaru had become increasingly flustered, and his mood had from hence spiralled downward.

"Sai, I don't know what to do. I wanted to play my best today, Sai, in front of Touya-sensei, but I couldn't. I really wanted to show him my abilities," Hikaru's strained voice said. "Maybe it's because Touya was there and I didn't want him to see that I was better than him, or maybe it's because I've been playing too many games without using my abilities fully, but I couldn't even play Ashiwara properly! I know I am better than him, I really do, but somehow I didn't want to see him lose either, no matter how much I wanted Touya-sensei to see the real me."

_Hikaru, I don't want you to play well because you want to impress someone. I want you to play well to respect your opponent. How long have you been playing Go already, Hikaru?_ Sai said, a frown spreading on his face.

"It has been one and a half years since you came out of that goban," Hikaru replied after a brief period of silence.

_Precisely, Hikaru. This should have been enough time for you to learn the importance of playing seriously. Stop thinking that your skills may kill your opponent, stop thinking that your opponent is so weak he will give up on Go if he lost. Hikaru, you have to learn to trust your opponent and believe in his strength. Go is a game based on trust, trust that neither party will cheat during the counting, trust that both sides will play a satisfying game, trust that the game will be one that will develop both parties. Hikaru, you cannot play a good game of Go if you do not trust your opponent. What use is a teaching game if you do not have trust that your opponent will learn from it?_

"I do believe that the insei will learn from my teaching games!" Hikaru yelled back indignantly, attracting some rather unwanted stares from the passers-by.

_That is trust on one level. You have to take it to another level if you want to be a good player. Good players are not born because they can play Go of a high standard. Good players are born because they know to play their best and to deliver their all into a game. That, Hikaru, is a good player. Make no mistake though; a player that goes out of his way to destroy another is a very bad one._ Sai's clear admonition left Hikaru very flustered and ashamed of himself, but however hard he tried, he was sure he would still play the same restrained game.

Sai shook his head silently as he watched Hikaru struggle with whatever made him restrict his play. Sometimes Sai wondered if he just being there was what ruined Hikaru's play. Without Sai Hikaru wouldn't see people lose so often that it made his spirit dull, but without Sai Hikaru would never have come to know Go, play Go, and love Go. Although Hikaru wouldn't be in so much pain now if all these things never happened. Was the love for Go worth going through so much turmoil for? Sai's answer certainly would be yes, but what about Hikaru's? Did he think the same way Sai did?

Hikaru didn't think much of Go before Sai came into his life and flooded his days with it. He could have continued to live his happy life as a normal student, albeit an underperforming one. There would never be dilemmas like there are now, and there most certainly wouldn't be any sneaky play or hidden talents. Then again the Go club would never have formed; Hikaru wouldn't have gotten to know Tsutsui, Mitani, or the other Go club members, all of whom brought so much joy and laughter into his life.

_Hey, Hikaru, do you regret meeting me?_

"Why'd you suddenly ask something like that?" Hikaru said, puzzled. Sai hardly ever asked questions, and even if he did he was asking them so that Hikaru could answer it and learn something. This time Sai was asking about something he truly did not know about. What had brought about this change? Did Sai get some strange thoughts into his head?

_Nothing, I just wanted to know._

Hikaru kicked at a pebble, suddenly remembering the time when Sai tried to get him to use stones and imitate handling Go stones the proper way. "I don't regret getting to know you. Yeah, you've been troublesome at times, but if I never met you I wouldn't learn how fun Go could be."

_But this very same Go is what's making you so troubled right now. Don't you wish you've never heard of 'Go' this word?_

He kicked at another pebble again, this time with so much force that the pebble hurtled a few metres forward. "I can't help it. Even though Go is so painful, I still can't imagine what kind of life I'd be living without it. I know it sounds silly, but I really cannot give it up. You probably feel this way too, Sai."

_I do. I love Go, and I don't regret dying for it. What I do feel sorry for is that I didn't persevere enough, that maybe I could have played Go outside the capital. I had been blinded by love, so to speak._ Sai said fondly. He could still remember the dark waters strangling his throat, filling his lungs up till all the air had bubbled out of him. He recalled his dimming sight and violent choking until he finally passed out. Go was his life and he couldn't do without it, but it was his folly of course overlooking the fact that Go may likely be found outside the capital as well.

"See?" Hikaru said, "There is nothing to regret. We both love Go, and that's all there is."

_All there is, huh?_

* * *

After the session Touya called Hikaru to ask him if he would come for the next study group, and Hikaru agreed after much pestering by Sai. Little by little Hikaru was assimilated into the Touya study group. It was a slow and tedious process but having a sunny personality like Ashiwara within the group helped Hikaru tremendously. He was getting close to Touya too, but it seemed, the closer they became the more they yelled at each other. It was strange.

Ogata still proved a bit of a problem, but ever since Hikaru gathered his courage to speak with him their relationship had gotten a lot better. Their conversations were short to the point of not having one at all but the tension in the air dissipated with every passing session. Hikaru actually dared to say that Ogata was almost _fond_ of him. It would have been a rather disturbing thought half a month ago but right now Hikaru felt like it was a good position to be in. It was interesting, seeing how Ogata never appeared to be fond of anyone before.

"Hikaru! A call for you!" Hikaru heard his mother call for him from below.

"Coming!" Hikaru yelled back, "Just give me a few more minutes!"

"The phone isn't going to wait for you!"

"I know, just a few minutes, please!" Hikaru turned his eyes back to the computer screen. His father's company recently got a new set of computers and was looking to dispose of the old ones, and Hikaru, seeing this as a chance to let Sai play NetGo in the comfort of his home, asked his father if he could acquire one set for him. Hikaru's father merely spared a curious look at him but brought a set back the very next day. Setting up the computer took the entire day, though, so Hikaru was really anxious to begin.

It had been a while since he had logged on. Sai suggested that Hikaru get himself a handle, which Hikaru thought was a brilliant idea since he had resolved on his first day visiting the Touya study group that he would play with full strength, provided that none of those whom he'd already played with before were present to witness the game. Being anonymous would help Hikaru a lot.

Under the _very_ creative name of FUJIWARA, Hikaru took the online Go world by storm. Still unaccustomed to playing at full strength, Hikaru took to playing teaching games which were suspiciously similar to games higher-dans would play. He tried to play his best, really, he did, but every time he came across a player with mediocre skills he would immediately switch to teaching game mode, which was very often, until Hikaru finally realised that playing like this would never help him unlock his full strength.

That aside, however, the online Go community was in a riot over who FUJIWARA was. FUJIWARA's playing style closely resembled SAI's, and many had also noticed that whenever one was online the other wasn't, and when one logged off the other would appear a few seconds later. Also, neither answered anybody's messages to them. Some theorised that FUJIWARA was actually SAI using a different handle to distinguish between teaching and competitive modes, and many accepted this.

It wasn't long before it became a silent rule that anyone seeking a teaching game would go to FUJIWARA for a game, and Hikaru's screen never stopped the onslaught of game requests that popped up every second or so. Both Sai and Hikaru resigned to the fact that Hikaru would be unable to use FUJIWARA to play at his full strength but that did not deter them from continuing to use the handle. There were people out there who really needed all the help they could get.

The game he was playing right now was deep into endgame. It would not be difficult to crush this person but Hikaru's kindly personality would not allow for such a thing. Instead, Hikaru dragged the game out to show this Kaito1990 where improvement was needed.

_Hikaru, you really should consider a career in teaching Go._ Sai said, amused. It seemed like Hikaru was having a lot of fun playing these anonymous teaching games where he didn't have to pretend to be really bad at Go. In fact, Hikaru's strength shone through brightly, and not only in a way which showed off his Go prowess but also revealed his gentle mentoring. There was a saying that said that only when one can teach what one has learnt has one really grasped the concepts. Hikaru was doing a splendid job teaching these people through NetGo.

"Pros teach," was Hikaru's short reply. He had seen some teaching games pros held at Go conventions which ordinary people could sign up for. It seemed like a normal occurrence. Touya had also missed one or two study group sessions for teaching games.

_Then hurry up and become a pro already, Hikaru! There'll be so many more exciting games to play when you get there! You'll be in the same place as Touya and that man!_ Sai's said animatedly, flailing his arms with anticipation. _You will go pro, right?_

"I don't know," Hikaru said, clicking on his mouse to place his second last stone. "I'm not ready to play full force with people I know yet. I don't want them to scorn me for not playing them well the first time round. I'm not even sure if I can play with full force."

_That's where you have to learn, Hikaru. You've already taken a step forward with this FUJIWARA identity, and you will only continue to grow. I have faith in you._ Sai said, patting Hikaru's hair with his sleeved hand. Hikaru could feel him, of course, but not with his physical senses. His 'spirit' sense tingled whenever Sai touched him.

"Yeah, but I've kind of placed a limit to the game requests I accept. I won't play those above 7-dan because I might suddenly change play if they're strong enough to pull me out of teaching game mode and then that'll scare way those whom I've been teaching. Right now I want to use FUJIWARA to teach. Besides, what if pros are online? I'd get crushed! Oh, the game ended. I've got to answer that call. Wait for me, okay? I'll change handles when I get back," Hikaru said and hurried out of his room. As his mother said, the phone didn't wait.

"Hello?"

"Shindou! What were you doing? Did you know how long I waited?" Touya's angry voice yelled at him from the other end of the phone.

"About three minutes?" Hikaru answered sheepishly. If he knew it was Touya on the line he'd have gotten down immediately. Touya had such a short fuse it was a wonder how he kept up his icy image in public.

"Five minutes, Shindou! Five!" Touya raised his voice yet again.

"It's only five minutes! What's there to be so angry about?" Hikaru yelled back indignantly.

"Your conduct is atrocious! If you continue making this a habit one day you'll be late by thirty minutes! Thirty minutes is enough to disqualify you from a game!"

"It's not like I'm going pro!" Hikaru retorted. Really, what was with everybody and their comments about him going pro? He just didn't have that desire now.

"You'd better go pro! You're good enough to be one, so just go and take that test already!"

"I'll take it when I'm ready, so just quiet down already! What did you call to talk about? How tardy I am?"

A short pause wherein Hikaru could hear Touya steadying his breath made Hikaru realise just how quiet things were before both of them started yelling at each other. He could hear his mother stir frying something in the kitchen, as well as Sai calling for him to hurry up.

"No, I called to inform you of the next study group session," Touya's steady, calm voice came through the receiver this time. "It will be held at my house, as usual, same time in two day's time."

"Okay," Hikaru said, making a not-so-reliable mental note to keep that day free. "Do you have anything else to add?"

"That's it. See you then." It was slightly unnerving how Touya could lose his temper one second and regain his cool the other.

"Yeah, bye," Hikaru put down the receiver and rushed back up to his room. Sai would kill him for making him wait so long for his game.

* * *

"Ah, good morning, Hikaru-kun, you're quite a bit early today," Touya Akiko said as she greeted Hikaru. The years had been kind to her, and even though she was in her mid forties, a secret she told no one save Hikaru, she looked not a year over thirty. The two had bonded very quickly over a cup of orange juice which Hikaru had left the study group to get, and before they knew it they had chatted until the session ended. Hikaru got a good scolding from Touya for missing half the session when the group was dismissed. The housewife only looked on as her son yelled at the other boy who was scowling and yelling back. Hikaru had changed him. He was no longer that much of a recluse and even though his relationship with Hikaru was awkward they were still friends, the first he had at that.

"Good morning, Touya-san! The train came a lot faster than usual." Hikaru replied brightly as he shook off his shoes. Touya's and his own mother were so similar, both friendly to a fault, that it made Hikaru very comfortable when around Touya's mother. He briefly wondered for a moment if Sai's mother was anything like them.

"The session is held in the usual place," Touya-san said with a smile. She always smiled. She was like the sunny disposition Touya-sensei didn't have, and she complemented him perfectly. Whatever it was that he lacked she had, and whatever she lacked he had. Out of the few things that they shared, two were their respect for tradition and their silent elegance.

"Thank you! Can I have some lemon juice this time?" Hikaru said, making his way to the room.

"I'll get Akira-san to bring it over later along with the others when the group begins," Touya-san called back as Hikaru disappeared round the bend. Really, the house was too big for just three people.

Hikaru slid open the door and settled himself comfortably in a cushion by the gobans. Seeing nobody in the room Hikaru sidled up to a goban, _Sai, do you want to play?_

_Play?_ Sai repeated, disbelief and excitement apparent on his ghostly face. _Are you sure? The rest could come any time now. They might suspect you of being me._

_Ogata already does. He keeps eyeing me whenever the rest start discussing about SAI. He's too creepy sometimes, but I'll just have to get used to it. Come on, Sai, don't you want to play? We haven't played for a while now since the computer came._

Sai felt his half-hearted resolve dissolve completely and jumped into the cushion on the opposite side of the board. The sparkle in his eyes intensified tenfold as he fingered his fan eagerly, almost hungrily. He wanted to see for himself how good Hikaru had gotten, and he would be lying if he said the prospect of playing Hikaru did not interest him in the least. Hikaru was one of the most interesting persons to play with, barring Touya Meijin and a select few others. It was his unpredictability that proved so much of a challenge to Sai, a thrilling experience though it was.

_Please._

* * *

Touya Kouyo was just getting ready to put away the book he was reading in his room when a shiver ran down his spine. It was more of an electrifying excitement than a chilling tremble, and Kouyo felt his heart race and breath shorten with a strange, unknown anticipation. As if directing themselves, his legs hurried to the room where he often held study group sessions.

He knew this sensation. It coursed through him every time he entered the Room of Profound Darkness, a room where top matches were played, like a wild fire that blazed intensely. The entire room was usually saturated with this thrill to the point of suffocation, an atmosphere pros would have to get used to if they so wished to play in the room. This said, he had never felt an atmosphere this electrifying and static before, not even when he played Kuwabara Hon'inbo. This tense, crackling air told him that someone somewhere very close to him was playing an incredible game and his inner Go enthusiast could not let the opportunity to witness such a game pass by him just like that.

His mouth shook as each step brought him closer to the study room. This spirit he was feeling was incredible, it was like a roaring river pushing its way forcefully into the sea, stopping at nothing to get what it wanted. He could feel the strength of the player. He paused for a moment to briefly savour the ambience of determination, momentarily noticing another aura fighting to make its headway among the much stronger one. This fighting aura would grow to become something incredible, that Kouyo was sure of, but right now what he wanted to know was the owner of the dominant air. He wanted to know, and he wanted to play, a rare occurrence for one who had been playing for the entire of his fifty odd years of life.

He did not bother pondering on how such a talent could have possibly appeared on such a day in his home, and swiftly pushed open the sliding door.

What he saw left him stunned. "Shindou-kun?" Kouyo breathed quietly, surprised.

Before him Shindou-kun sat at one of his aged and scarred goban, eyeing the board fiercely, a majestic game spread out before him like a universe brilliantly crafted.

* * *

**Uwah! I'm finally done with another chapter. This chapter took really long to write, especially the first third. The two last thirds were written within a week or less. The holidays will begin soon so I will probably use this time to write another chapter. I'll try to get the next one uploaded by the end of this year, if not the start or middle of the next.**

**Now to answer some reviews.**

**-w- easy enough:** WAH! I didn't notice took away all my line breaks! Sorry, I've put them in now so hopefully the story will be easier to read. And, yeah, I'm thinking of pitting Hikaru against someone other than Akira because he will be going much higher. Akira will still have people to challenge with who are around his standards for a while to come.

**MadaMag: **For Hikaru's standards, refer to the author's note at the end of chapter 5. He's grown a little since then but there shouldn't be too much of a difference.

**Daniel Wolf: **Sadly, I do not play Go on KGS, and even more sad is the fact that I do not play Go at all. I did try, as I have mentioned in a few of my previous author's notes, but Go didn't really interest me. I'm actually not into games and the only board game I ever have confidence in is Chinese checkers, which did not originate from China in the first place. This is the reason why I absolutely cannot think up of any more ideas for Go games in this story. If I were to hazard a guess at my ranking, I'd say 18-kyu, because that's where I was the last time I tried. Ah, I'm pretty bad at the game. Hikaru's gonna be so disappointed in me…

**Iatheia: **Sad indeed that Hikaru and Akira may not walk down the rival's path together, but I have greater plans for Hikaru so it cannot be helped. Hikaru's not perfect either. His potential may be huge and possibly perfect, but the road to fulfilment isn't one without hardships and stumbles. Sometimes you backpedal too.

**I know the concept for the FUJIWARA handle seems very sketchy and flimsy, but I have my reasons for making Hikaru play teaching games with that handle. I don't want him to play at full strength yet because I want it revealed in a more...dramatic way. I don't particularly like the way the 'logic' flowed when I described FUJIWARA but since I myself also believe that there is no reason why Hikaru didn't have the ability to play at full strength with FUJIWARA, it was quite difficult writing that explanation. My story is going against my beliefs...oh joy.**

**That's all for this chapter. If anyone has other things to clarify (or ideas to suggest) you know what to do. The review link is not too far away.**


	11. Discovery

**I am really glad to be starting on another chapter, but I think it is only right to assume that the time between the start and the completion of chapter 11 will be anything but short. I truly am frustrated by my complacency and am even more annoyed that I seem to have no motivation to change this fact. Honestly, I can't tell if I'm having a writer's block or if I'm just living within the block itself…**

**This chapter turned out to focus a lot on thoughts and feelings instead of any actual plot, but I guess it'll serve to emphasise some events in the future. That is, if you bothered to come back to remember what each character actually described he felt. There is a lot of vague foreshadowing here, but I might decide to change the plot in the future, so the foreshadowing may be nullified, but hey, that's the reason why it's vague in the first place, so I can decide if I really want to make a big deal out of it or just leave it as something to make you feel…well…**_**something**_**.**

**Responds to reviews are in the author's note at the bottom of this chapter.**

**Edit: 15 June 2011. Corrected the issue of having a tie in a game with komi. No big change in plot.**

**Edit 2: 16 June 2011. Corrected embarrassing spelling and grammar mistakes. More corrections may be made when I read through this again. It is...appalling...how many mistakes I made. I need to do something to remedy this.**

* * *

**Two Sides to a Face…or More**

**Chapter 11: Discovery**

Not a soul in the room was still as Shindou Hikaru continued to battle fiercely against Sai, unknowing of the fact that Touya Meijin, _the_ Touya Meijin, was observing his game with a critical eye. His heart raged with a fire he didn't know how to quell, and every nerve ending in him burned from this uncontrollable passion. The world was only him, Sai and the goban. Nothing else existed; nothing else mattered. He could feel the game reaching its climax, the point where he would begin to unleash his abilities upon the board, to charge head on into Sai's mesmerising game to just try and graze victory.

If he was drowning in his own fighting spirit, Sai was already long dead in his own, not that he wasn't already dead, coincidentally by drowning. The pressure settled heavily on Hikaru's shoulders, not unlike a large bird roosting on a lone twig stemming from a hollow branch. Sai's fighting spirit even had claws, for goodness sake! It had been a while since he last tasted this crushing air, and he welcomed its reassuring weight. Even though Sai had never before taken him so seriously since they'd played so frequently in the past, this immense pressure felt no more painful than before. Perhaps Hikaru himself had grown and learnt to endure such incredible auras.

His legs didn't seem to feel anything anymore, Hikaru wasn't even aware that he still had his legs, but he paid them no heed. All he wanted to do was see this game through to the very end, but alas, an end it did not have. Even with his concentration focussed on the game before him, he would have been too oblivious to not notice the sudden lifting of air around him as Sai's fighting spirit suddenly vanished. The ease of breathing struck him as odd, and when he looked up, to shoot a questioning glance at Sai, he felt his face pale to a sickly sheen of white as he followed the ghost's shocked gaze.

"T—Touya-sensei…"

Everything seemed to buckle under–and onto–him all at once. He was hit with the realisation that the Meijin was now far too close to uncovering the secret of Sai than he was comfortable with, far closer than anyone had ever been. Touya might have suspected something, but his father had _seen_ it happen. But no matter how much Hikaru wanted to deny the fact that Touya-sensei had quite literally walked in on him and Sai playing, he could not tear his eyes from the man's face.

Pensive was the only word Hikaru could think of which described the thoughtful and slightly confused expression the Meijin wore. He ignored Sai's worried and unintelligible babble as Touya-sensei continued to peer curiously into Hikaru's eyes, as if he could find the answer to whatever question he had simply by _looking_. Hikaru couldn't do anything but just freeze in traditional seiza—why was he in seiza in the first place when he had never liked that position?—, mortified. What he would give to turn back time and just keep his mouth shut without asking Sai to play with him! This predicament he had placed himself in was going to help Touya-sensei ascertain that he, Shindou Hikaru, was a nutcase for playing such a high intensity game _alone_. Hikaru had no doubt that Touya-sensei could feel Sai's aura.

Before Hikaru could stutter further and make an even greater fool out of himself, the voice of one Ogata Seiji greeting Touya Akiko boomed in his ears like the world had suddenly come crashing down on him, or rather, like he had come crashing back down to earth. Hikaru assumed he was just being paranoid, because Ogata never raised his voice when he was trying to be polite and he was sure Ogata wouldn't want to offend his sensei's wife.

"Shindou-kun, if you would please stay back after the study session. I would like a game with you, at your full strength," Touya-sensei articulated softly but clearly to Hikaru, just quiet enough that Ogata couldn't hear them from the front doors, and just loud enough that Hikaru could catch what he said without straining. Of course, Sai heard him as well, since he was nose to nose with the Meijin—and eyeing him rather intensely as well—without the other man realising it.

Dazed, Hikaru continued sitting in the cushion, staring blankly at the Meijin, until the man prompted, "It would save on a lot of explanations if you cleared the board before Ogata-kun comes." Hikaru startled out of his reverie and began collecting the stones, the game still fresh in his mind. His hands fumbled a couple of times as they tried to pick the black and white stones separately, when he realised that another pair of hands were picking up stones as well.

Those aged, wrinkled hands were the hands of a strong player, and Hikaru could only be surprised for the millionth time that day by Touya-sensei. The Meijin had knelt in the cushion which Sai had previously occupied and started clearing the stones from the board much more deftly than Hikaru.

When the sliding door opened once more to reveal Ogata this time, the board was nearly cleared, but not quite. Hikaru observed nervously as Ogata raised an eyebrow at the few stones left on the board. Thankfully, Touya-sensei came to his rescue, "Shindou-kun and I were just recreating a few games. It seems he arrived fairly early today." Hikaru suddenly noticed that instead of having two containers of stones on his side of the board he now only had one. He blinked. Touya-sensei sure planned things out before doing anything. Having stones of two colours on his side would immediately give the game away and Ogata would be even more suspicious of Hikaru than he already was, not that it really mattered either way, because a slightly suspicious Ogata would go to the same lengths to uncover the truth as a very suspicious Ogata. It also didn't help that Ogata was a very forceful man by nature.

Hikaru hadn't realised how incredibly, unnaturally calm Touya-sensei had been until the rest of the study group had arrived and started on their usual routine with the Meijin sitting in the middle of it all. Hikaru vaguely noted that the group seemed to be keen on discussing about NetGo today. Hikaru himself would have freaked out if he had found Touya with a burning spirit sitting at a goban alone, with a set of black and white stones beside him and glaring down at a game which didn't look reconstructed. He might actually expect the boy's straight-cut hair to burst into flames, knowing how serious the other boy could get when he was playing his best. He was just thankful that Touya was currently running an errand for his mother. He didn't think he could keep a straight face while looking at Touya and thinking of his hair burning at the same time.

* * *

The study session couldn't have gone any faster. As many have said, the more one dreads something the more it seems to hate you and rush at you like a flying cheetah approaching dinner. Hikaru bit on the inside of his mouth, hard. It seemed as if the entire universe was out to get him. Beside him, Sai sat rigidly still, so focused on the Meijin in front of him that it seemed as if nothing else but him existed before his eyes. This might be the first time Hikaru ever envied Sai for going unnoticed by everybody. Touya-sensei's intense eyes bore into him in a most uncomfortable way, but Hikaru had already made up his mind to stay until the very end, no matter what might lie before him.

"Shindou-kun."

"Y-yes, Touya-sensei?" Hikaru stammered. The room suddenly felt so large and foreign despite how often Hikaru had seen it since he first came. The various items and little trinkets in the study room suddenly faded into obscurity, and within that abyss it felt like a million curious glances were sent his way. He had never felt this scrutinised before. This illusion had already been there ever since Touya-sensei walked in on the game, and it didn't cease throughout the entire study group, or even after the study group dispersed when Touya gave him a puzzled look as he left when the neither Hikaru nor the Meijin moved from their seats.

"That which happened a while ago…that pressure, whose was it?"

_Of course he would ask whose it was_, Hikaru thought, tensed. _It must have been obvious that it wasn't me._ Sai was still oblivious to the dilemma his host was facing, and Hikaru found himself renewing his envy of Sai's "unfortunate" inability be seen, and the fact that Sai could do whatever he wanted and not be pressed in awkward circumstances for answers regarding someone only he could see.

He had three options. The first was to say nothing at all, but that would not resolve a thing. Hikaru knew that Touya-sensei was not the kind of person who would force someone unwilling to speak. If anything, he was the kind who would sit and wait patiently until the other party began to feel guilty for making such a nice person wait so long.

The second option was to lie, to feed him a convincing lie that Hikaru had no doubt he'd have to weave right there and then and such lies were simply way beyond Hikaru's present – and possibly future – lying abilities to exist. In fact, Hikaru couldn't see the point in lying to Touya-sensei about anything Go related. If anything, Touya-sensei had the uncanny ability to see through any lie that might have the word "Go" scrawled all across it, and Sai was…well, Sai was practically made of Go.

The third option was something Hikaru really did not want to accept, but as fate would have it, it wasn't his choice to make.

"There is…someone else inside of me," Hikaru began quietly, his eyes never leaving his chipped nails which he suddenly found very interesting. "No, that's not right. There is someone else only I can see."

"Am I right to assume that this…someone else…was playing white?"

Ah, so the Meijin had seen and _remembered_ their game. It would make it a lot easier for Hikaru to explain now that the Meijin was aware – or at least seemed somewhat accepting – that Hikaru was not the only one playing that game. Hikaru knew that the older man would understand to some extent, because that was just how Touya-sensei's nature was, but he never expected this kind of acceptance for the seemingly unbelievable.

_Had it been Ogata_, Hikaru thought wryly, and then shuddered. If it had been Ogata to whom he told that to, he wasn't sure if he would be able to leave without sitting through at least ten traumatising games between Sai and the getting-less-creepy-but-still-creepy man, all of them demanded, obviously, by Ogata. If it had been Touya, the other boy would probably scream into his face and ask – still screaming, of course – why he hadn't told him that earlier. All that done out of earshot of his parents, naturally. If it had been anyone else, Hikaru couldn't really see them caring enough to either try to understand or be bothered to react in any way other than carting him off to the nearest mental hospital.

But it wasn't just anyone else he was speaking to, and that was what mattered, because anything that hasn't happened and isn't happening is not going to make much of a difference to him now.

"Yes," Hikaru whispered, barely daring to look up.

"What," Touya-sensei started, his voice a little uncertain, "or who is it?"

For the first time since this incredibly awkward conversation began, which was a really long time considering the long lapses of silence in between, Sai noticed Hikaru's surreptitious glance at him, and told him: _Tell him. I want him to know._

In that brief moment, Hikaru understood. Sai was lonely, and despite how much Hikaru himself had grown, how much he let Sai play NetGo, everything still wasn't enough to satisfy Sai's desire…no, _need_…to play. He had seen this coming, but he had to say he was not prepared for how much it hurt. Ever since the ghost first appeared to him the idea that he was somehow special to the childish, thousand year old man had taken root in his mind. It wasn't hard to, since he was the only person who could actually _see_ him, and that alone was more than enough to make him special.

However, more than craving company, Sai wanted to play. His love for Go was astounding, if the fact that he was given more than just another chance to dedicate what little life he had to playing the game was anything to go by. It took another person who had made Go his everything, or close to everything, and had achieved skill on a level rivalling Sai's own to satiate Sai's apparent need to play. In that moment when Sai pleaded him to reveal his ghostly existence to the Meijin, Hikaru understood, and resigned himself to the fact that he would never be the one to be Sai's rival, not that he had ever really tried to be, but he liked to keep his options open.

Perhaps Hikaru could find a rival in Touya, who by any far stretch of imagination shouldn't be too far behind him to be unable to catch up. When Sai spoke to him in that maddeningly calm yet intense voice, Hikaru abandoned the thought of catching up to Sai and to have Sai acknowledge him as a rival before it even formed, deciding that it would be hopeless to try. There was no reason to try anyway. Sai had Touya-sensei, and so long as neither of them suddenly decided to die on each other, it would likely stay this way for all eternity.

Yes, Hikaru had Touya. Touya wasn't where he was yet, and this much Hikaru could finally admit without breaking into nervous sweat, but Touya could get there, even if Hikaru had to slow down and wait for him. Hikaru realised that he just didn't want to be alone as he worked his way up the ladder of Go skill, and using Touya like this would no doubt make the other boy mad, but he had never felt this alone before, not when he held back against others, not when he tried to go all out but simply _couldn't_, not when he hid behind the mask of FUJIWARA, and certainly not when Sai trashed him like he wasn't even worth looking at. He didn't feel lonely then, because Sai, the person who had introduced him to and taught him Go, had always been there to cheer him on or nag him incessantly to get rid of his hesitance.

The suddenness with which he was struck by the epiphany that he had to share Sai, which had never happened before due to obvious reasons, was painful to say the least. He would be lying if he said that he wasn't afraid to lose his friend, but he would be lying even more if he said that he didn't fear for his sanity regarding anything to do with Go. He could very well lose his mentor if Sai got too wrapped up in his games with Touya-sensei, and then he would lose his very valuable source of Go tutorage and he would be all alone when playing Go, something he had never experienced. He silently thanked whatever it was that put Touya right next to him, never mind the fact that at present, Touya wasn't as close to him in skill as he would have liked.

Hikaru almost laughed to himself. He never realised Sai to be this important to him. Sai had always been a constant presence; one that he hardly noticed was separate from himself anymore. But this conversation wasn't about him. It was about Sai, and what Sai wanted. He was willing to give in that much. Sai had told him that he needed to play with others more, that he needed to play with others at his best. If letting go of Sai, the only person he let go of all restraints with, was the only way he could force himself to achieve that, then so be it.

Ironically, though, it wasn't too long ago that he wanted to play someone else other than Sai simply because the ghost just couldn't refrain from achieving overwhelming victory when playing him when he was at his best. But whatever happened then happened then. For now, he steadied his voice, and brought his eyes up to meet Touya-sensei's.

"His name is Sai."

* * *

Kouyo felt his eyebrows rise by a fraction of a centimetre. He might be computer illiterate, but that didn't mean that he hadn't heard that name before. It was just a while earlier when Ashiwara came in that the talk about NetGo actually began, and Kouyo heard the name SAI for the first time. Shindou-kun was, as he observed, too caught up in whatever the subject of his thoughts was to be paying much attention to the pre-lesson conversation to remember a thing of it.

Ashiwara nearly tumbled into the room with excitement, jabbering away excitedly about some person on NetGo making a comeback after not appearing online for months. Indeed, Ashiwara had been doing that for a week or two now. Kouyo, naturally, was not very interested in the subject – though Ogata-kun definitely was, for reasons unknown to him – until the young man mentioned that this individual was highly skilled, and in fact had managed to "update" his or her outdated playing style to something more relevant, something equivalent to a modern day Shuusaku. That piqued Kouyo's interest, especially after witnessing a very unorthodox game that Shindou-kun had been engrossed in just minutes earlier.

"Is this person the very same Sai that has been on NetGo recently?"

The boy looked mildly surprised by the question. Kouyo didn't know if it had more to do with the fact that he made a connection or that he was even slightly in the know about NetGo and all things gloriously electronic.

"I'm glad that you already guessed," the boy said, with a small smile almost tugging at the corners of his mouth.

"Is there anything else that I should know about…or anything you else you want me to know about?"

Shindou-kun's eyes shifted to his side, as if holding a silent conversation with an invisible and unheard companion. He seemed to be debating rather heatedly, if the creases in his brows and fierceness in his eyes were any indication at all. Kouyo looked on, slightly amused, as the boy bit his lip every now and then, his eyes flashing dangerously at one point, before conceding and turning back to face the older man.

"Sai wants me to tell you that he would like to have a game with you," Shindou-kun said, twisting uncomfortably in his cushion, his fingers wringing tersely.

"Then, a game he shall get," Kouyo replied calmly, "although I would like to get to know him better."

Shindou-kun sat unnaturally quietly for a moment before relaying, "Sai says that he would be honoured to make your acquaintance, and from what I can make of his…ramblings, sensei, Sai is very excited to play you. I believe we should begin now, or he'll have my head. We can talk about this later." The boy shuffled in his seat and rubbed the back of his neck slowly, as if to ease the stiffness in it.

"A pleasure," Kouyo said. "Nigiri?"

The boy paused for a moment and then reached to take a fistful of white stones, moving to sprawl them on the goban after Kouyo drew two black stones from the container of black Go stones.

"Sai, you're black," the boy whispered under his breath, so softly that Kouyo nearly missed it. When the Meijin looked up he immediately startled. The concentration the boy displayed for a game not his own – or so the boy claimed – was stunning. Gone was the fidgety boy and in his place sat one whose eyes were trained on nothing but the board, even though no hands had yet been played. Kouyo suspected that Shindou-kun hadn't really intended to say anything and that it had only been a slip because the boy was simply too absorbed in the to-be game to be concerned with anything else.

Kouyo felt himself smile. With this kind of concentration, the boy was sure to go far. However, there were more pressing matters at hand so Kouyo, with all the calmness taught by age, inclined his head and said, "Please."

Shindou-kun peered at him briefly from under his bangs and said curtly, as if impatient to get it over, "Please."

Kouyo didn't know what to think then. Perhaps it was the way he couldn't see his opponent bow before the game began nor speak the word that would start the game, or perhaps it was the iron in the boy's voice, but no matter what it is, it seemed as if Shindou-kun himself was playing the game as well.

Kouyo paused briefly to look intently at the child in front of him. At that moment, he almost forgot that his opponent wasn't this mere child of 13, because the passion hidden within the boy's eyes was threatening to consume him. As quickly as he noticed this, however, it vanished, and all that was left was the sight of Shindou-kun kneeling respectfully in seiza with his eyes hard and focused on the goban in front of him. Kouyo shook his head. _Perhaps it was just a trick of light_, he thought. But somewhere in him something was ignited and a quiet hiss he ignored defiantly insisted almost too softly to be heard that it wasn't just an illusion.

The man realised, just barely, that it wasn't just the mysterious Sai that he wanted to learn more about, but also this enigma of a boy sitting in front of him who wasn't at all what he seemed, if only for the fact that he was the _only_ one who could speak to Sai.

* * *

Nothing Sai did could contain his excitement. He had waited so long for this moment when Touya Kouyo, the man who stood at the very top of Japan's Go world, would play with him and _acknowledge_ him as _Sai_, not as an extension of Hikaru. _Of course_, Sai thought with glee and some pride, _I wouldn't expect someone like him to make such a mistake. He is the one who will rival me, after all_.

From the increasingly frequent opportunities that Sai had to observe Touya Kouyo and yearn for the game he could – and would – give him, the ghost had come to a conclusion that the man, while intimidating and aloof in many general aspects, was particularly observant and treaded lightly when dealing with very personal matters, the current most significant one being Hikaru's revelation of Sai to him, which Sai had rather goaded him into.

But that aside, Sai could not find it in himself to care for the awkwardness of the situation that Hikaru was no doubt feeling. He knew it was despicable of him to brush Hikaru's concerns aside so easily like that, especially when Hikaru had been nothing but indulgent towards most of Sai's selfish whims to play Go, but he couldn't help it. The opportunity to play Touya Kouyo did not just present itself to anyone at any given time. A part of Sai was still unable to come to complete grips with the fact that Touya Kouyo had agreed to play him, _Sai_. It was too surreal to be true.

Letting out a breath he didn't know he had been holding – indeed, a breath he didn't know was possible for him to hold in his immaterial body – Sai scrambled to settle himself as close to Hikaru as possible, if only to assume a position as similar to one he would if he had been corporeal and if he didn't need Hikaru to place his stones for him. He wanted to stare into Touya Kouyo's intense eyes and feel his aura rolling off him in waves. He wanted to know what it was like – what it _would_ be like – if he actually played Touya Kouyo as a living, breathing individual. He wanted to soak in the game like he could if he was alive.

Sai gave himself a small, rueful smile. He was already dead. There was no way he could make Touya Kouyo actually play him like he was really sitting there on the cushion in front of him and glare at him like he would a visible opponent. Bitterly, Sai mused that there was no point crying over spilt milk, especially since he had been the one who had toppled the glass over and went on to kill his own self. Having this opportunity to play Touya Kouyo, and, in fact, having this opportunity to play Go again after his own death, had been something he did not deserve. He should savour it for all it was worth and thank whatever powers that granted him these gifts.

He shook the thoughts out of his head. It wasn't like him to dwell on such depressing matters. It wasn't like him to resent anything…except for the occasional denial by Hikaru to let him play Go…but he drew the line there. Nothing short of being denied the chance to play would get him whiny and acerbic. Sai didn't even know he had it in himself to become like that until he met Hikaru, since no one actually tried to deny him when he was alive, and Torajirou _always_ let him play.

Sai noticed, with a slight wince, that Touya Kouyo was looking not at him but at Hikaru. It was expected, of course, but that didn't mean that it wouldn't pain him. It was almost disconcerting that the man was looking at Hikaru with blazing eyes instead of at Sai himself, his true opponent for this game. Sai did not like feeling left out or unnoticed, but one who has lived as a ghost for nearly 30 years – and spent nearly a thousand as a spirit trapped in a goban – tended to get used to it, or rather, he _had_ to get used to it, or he'd have gone quite mad with the lack of interaction with the rest of the world.

Awkwardly, Sai tried to make himself comfortable and barely noticed Hikaru whispering to him that he had the first hand. Steeling himself to face Touya Kouyo, who had apparently given up eyeing Hikaru and had turned his eyes to the goban, Sai tightened his grip around his fan. He watched with little actual attention as Hikaru and Touya Kouyo exchanged pleasantries. It was like looking through a heavy fog. Nothing felt real. It was like he was sitting on cloud nine and peering down on Hikaru and the man Sai would soon play. Clumsily, Sai bowed as well, and whispered his own quiet _Please_, which went unnoticed by a suddenly fiercely focused Hikaru and a calm, yet intensely contemplative Touya Kouyo, who wouldn't have heard him even if he strained to, much to Sai' eternal chagrin.

Hikaru bowing for him and assuming responsibility to utter niceties for him before a game was nothing new, but somehow, against Touya Kouyo, Sai didn't want him to. Hikaru wasn't the one playing the game. It was _Sai_. Sai wanted to do it himself and be the one that Touya Kouyo set his hard, determined eyes upon. He didn't want Hikaru setting his stones for him, _playing_ for him. He wanted to play for himself, to hold the stones in his hands, play with them for a little, before setting them down on the cool, hard goban with a satisfying '_pachi_'. He wanted to assert himself as a player before Touya Kouyo. But as his hand slipped through the container of Go stones, Sai let loose a frustrated sigh and had to content himself with calling out his moves which only Hikaru could hear. It did not take any of the frustration away, not in the least, when the Meijin spared a very brief glance at Hikaru with silent curiosity before dropping his head down to focus fully on his game with Sai, and Sai knew that glance was saved for Hikaru, and Hikaru alone.

Sometimes, Sai really hated this cursed "life" he led. He'd rather be dead than have his opponent stolen from him by a mere 13 year old, but he clung on. Hikaru wouldn't steal Touya Kouyo away from him. Not as long as he, Fujiwara no Sai, still existed, ghostly spectre that only one person could see or not.

And besides, loathed as Sai was to admit, he loved Hikaru dearly. He'd be more hurt to know that it was Hikaru who stole Touya Kouyo from him than he would be about Touya Kouyo no longer being his rival. He'd die immediately – no, vanish, perhaps, since ghosts can't really die anymore, not when they've already died once and it would undoubtedly be a strange experience to die again – if that happened, because Hikaru, like Torajirou, was a life, and so much more precious than his desire to play Go. It was a concept Sai barely dared to wrap his mind around, but he had, and he was going to accept it. He would not make the same mistake of playing Go until his host died. Never again.

Readying himself, Sai let go of all his thoughts and forced himself to think only about his game. He couldn't afford to lose concentration here.

* * *

Two masters facing off was a sight to behold, and Hikaru counted himself lucky to be sitting there in the middle of all the action. As much action as there can be when the only twitch of muscles served to place a stone no larger than a coin. Hikaru was suffocating under the immense, combined pressure of Touya-sensei's and Sai's fighting spirit, and, strangely, his own, which wafted in delicate tendrils to avoid being crushed by the other two's. He ought to be dreaming.

But he wasn't. He could feel Sai's anticipation and Touya-sensei's determination, and the feeling of his legs fading away into numbness under him definitely wasn't false either. Even if he was hallucinating, he would be silly to allow his legs to lose their feeling like that. Hikaru could hardly wait for Sai to begin. His fingers were already hovering above the box of stones, just _itching_ to take one out and place it with an echoing '_pachi_'. Trembling with contained excitement, Hikaru pushed his hand into the stones and grasped one between his fingers.

_Anytime now, Sai_, Hikaru thought, his hand lifted from the stones.

At that very moment, Sai's whisper resounded like crashing waves in his ears, _Upper left star_.

* * *

Hikaru eyed the Meijin nervously when the game concluded with a very anti-climatic end. Sai had bested Touya-sensei by a large margin. Hikaru wasn't expecting any large score gap, and this had left him unexpectedly speechless. Knowing Sai's utter inability to hold back when playing – even against Hikaru, the boy mused – had left Hikaru with the impression that Sai would somehow find a way to have an easy win, because it seemed that Touya-sensei had not been expecting someone of Sai's calibre, and had merely been testing the waters during the opening hands, and although he was quick to realise Sai's capability and change his strategy, his earlier folly had left him rather behind Sai by then.

Sai, on the other hand, had been ecstatic to play the Meijin, and his aura flared more violently than it had in the numerous times Hikaru had the unfortunate luck to experience its crushing weight firsthand. He was wincing all throughout the game until he managed to get somewhat accustomed to the weight to stop flinching whenever it flicked itself against him at random moments. Unfortunately for him, that wasn't until the most intense parts of the game were over.

It wasn't until long after the last hand had been placed that Sai showed any indication of stepping out of his trance-like state. Sai arched his back like the early waxing crescent and tilted his head backward, leaving the whiteness of his neck open and exposed. His brows furrowed furiously toward each other with his clear, purple eyes tightly closed, tension apparent on his agelessly young face. His lips no longer curved into the giddy, childish smile Hikaru just had to associate with the Go-obsessed ghost but instead lifted at their corners, as if in a hidden grimace. His hand was clasped firmly around his fan and his knuckles had long since turned an unhealthy shade of white that was even paler than his already light complexion – something not known to be possible until then.

Hikaru turned away from the visage of Sai that was a stranger to him. Sai had never been like this. He wasn't exactly sure what was running through Sai's mind at that moment, and had no way to draw the ghost from his self-imposed posture of muted agony, an image the complete opposite of what he was prior to the game.

Suddenly, Hikaru heard a quiet voice, and startled, _Tell him. Tell him that next time, I want him playing me seriously right from the beginning._

Hikaru gulped and faced Touya-sensei who was staring contemplatively at the goban, his chest heaving a little as if out of breath and seemed to be looking for something he might have missed during the game. His eyes held no hint of regret for having lost the game so badly. Softly, Hikaru cleared his throat, and said, "Touya-sensei."

Touya-sensei raised his head to look at Hikaru, who shifted nervously. "What is it, Shindou-kun?"

"Sai said…" Hikaru started, but his mouth suddenly feeling parched and dry, and it seemed as if no words could slip past it into the air and to Touya-sensei. He licked the inside of his mouth cavity, closed his eyes, gulped and shuddered to a calm, then resumed his words, "Sai said that he would like you to play his seriously from the very beginning the next time you play him."

To his credit, Touya-sensei did not look the least bit surprised, and answered immediately, "If he can hear me, then he will understand the words I am about to say. One who hides in the shadows can never truly attain the Hand of God."

Hikaru's eyes grew to the size of his fist, and, forgetting his earlier discomfort in front of the Meijin, abruptly shot up to hotly defend Sai, ignoring the absolute lack of sensation in his legs that told him he was going to lose his precarious balance anytime, "Sai never asked to go unnoticed! He didn't ask to have to hide himself!"

The Meijin merely raised an eyebrow. "Then he must be here for a reason other than to play the Hand of God."

Beside Hikaru, Sai snapped out of his thoughts and cast a pair of wild, distressed eyes toward the Meijin.

* * *

**This story is writing itself! This chapter (and the last part of chapter 10, and probably the first part of chapter 12) wasn't even supposed to exist. It kind of simply happened on its own. I have the entire story planned out, and this didn't even come close to **_**anything**_** in the scaffold. Hikaru really is one unpredictable child…anyway, this story will still continue as planned (mostly) until I finally decide that yes, it is time to end this. It won't be anytime soon, so you'll have to bear with me if this takes years to accomplish. I'll just sit back and watch where this story takes me. I have revised the scaffold a few times already, so it wouldn't come as too much of a surprise if this story takes an unprecedented turn and throws me off completely. -Laughs- I'll be looking forward to that if (when?) it happens. It's always so fun – albeit rather frightening – when the characters do things different from the original plans. I'll be making use of this twist in events to further emphasise on certain things, but otherwise, not many large changes will occur.**

**But, to answer a question you might have after this chapter, I should say to you now that I have no plans to revive Sai or give him a body. I'm just saying this because Sai's internal monologue seemed…to indicate some sort of resentment toward his current state of being, and might hint (incorrectly) that I would revive him to resolve this issue.**

**The next chapter should be up within half a year, if nothing unforeseen (such as failing my exams) happens. I look forward to continuing this story! Really, I do. I'll see this story through till the end. It's my first Hikaru no Go fan fiction and I don't want to abandon it.**

**Seriyuu:** No matter what happens, Hikaru and Akira will still be friends, but I assure you, Hikaru's experience with Go will be pretty intense even if Akira isn't around as his rival. Hikaru is just special in a way that just makes everything so much more interesting, no matter where he is or what situation he is in.

**silverXshadow: **Your take on the Hikaru, Sai and Touya-Meijin relationship is very interesting. I don't think many have thought of things the way you did. I think you may be pleased with the series of events that will be presented in…many chapters down the road. -Laughs- You'll just have to wait.

**To everyone else annoyed with Hikaru:** -cringe- I'm sorry he's like this, but that's what gave this story a story in the first place. The reason I'm introducing Touya-Meijin to be a main supporting character of sorts is to help him along somewhat, if Sai disappears and/or Akira is unable to become Hikaru's rival. Even if Touya-Meijin can't do anything about Hikaru's Go since Sai already fills that post, at least, being an older and (supposedly) wiser man, he should be able to give Hikaru some advice to improve his unhealthy lack of confidence and over-empathy. Hikaru needs to harden himself, but Sai is a big softie (when he is not, he's terribly frightening) and Akira is just as old as Hikaru is, so he lacks a certain measure of experience which Touya-Meijin can provide. I'm trying to surround Hikaru on all sides, with Sai as his Go mentor, Akira as his friend, and Touya-Meijin as…well…I'm not quite sure, but someone to help him regain some measure of confidence that's crucial to survive in the professional Go world. Before anyone asks, yes, I do intend for Hikaru to go pro, but that might not be for a while.


End file.
